PROCEEDINGS
THE SOCIETY
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY,
NOVEMBER, 1887,
JUNE, 1 888,
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION
PUBLISHED AT
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
1888.
HARRISON AND SONS,
PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY,
ST. martin's lane, LONDON.
COUNCIL, 1887-8.
President : —
P. LE Page Renouf,
Vice-Presidents : —
Rev. Frederick Charles Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.
Lord Halsbury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., &c.. Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., Sec, &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart., D.C.L., M.D., &c., &c.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury.
Council .
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, M.P.,
Rev. Charles James Ball.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A.
E. A. WaUis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Cates.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, D.D.
Thomas Christy, F.L.S.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A.
&c.
Rev. Albert Lowy.
Rev. James Marshall.
F. D. Mocatta.
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
J. Pollard.
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
E. Towry Whyte, M.A.
Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
Honorary Treasu7-er — Bernard T. Bosanquet.
Secretary — W, Harry Rylands, F.S.A.
Honorary Secretary for Foreign Correspondence — Prof. A. H. Sayce, M.A.
Honorary Librarian — William Simpson, F. R.G.S.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Secretary's Report for 1887 135-14°
List of Council, &:c., for 1888 142
Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for the year ended
31st December, 1887 ... ... ... ... ... 141
Donations to Library ■) ... 1-3, 79-80, 133-134, 179-180
Purchases for Library) 233-234, 331-332, 389-390
Nomination of Candidates ... 3, 80, 134, 180, 234, 332, 390
Election of Members ... 80, 134, 180, 234, 332, 390
Election of Honorary Members ... ... ... ... 134
Errata 132, 178, 232, 299-300, 329
November i, 1887.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. Excavations made at Aswan by
Major-General Sir F. Grenfell during the years 1885 and
1886. {6 Plates) 4-40
Dr. W. Pleyte. Oracle of Anion ... ... ... ... 41-55
Prof E. Revillout. Letter upon Nubian Oracles... ... 55-59
S. Alden Smith. Assyrian Letters. Part II. (9 Plates) 60-72
P. le Page Renouf {Preside?it). Inscription at Kum-el-
ahmar; copied by Prof. Sayce. (Plate)... ... ... 73-78
December 6, 1887.
Max Miiller. The supposed Name of Judah in the List
of Shoshenq ... ... ... ... ... . . 81-83
P. le Page Renouf {President). Note on the same . . . 83-86
E. A. \Vallis Budge, M.A. The fourth Tablet of the
Creation Series. (6 Plates) ... ... ... ... 86
Rev. C. J. Ball. Inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar II. Part
I. The India House Inscription... ... ... ... 87-129
CONTENTS. V
PAGE
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A. An Inscribed Fragment of
Wood from Thebes ... ... ... ... ... 130-131
P. le Page Renouf {Freside?it). Note on the Inscription
at Kum-el-ahmar ... ... ... ... ... .. 132
JANU.A.RY 10, 1888. (Anniversary.)
Karl Piehl. Inscription grecque trouvee en Egypte ... 143
Rev. W. Houghton, M.A., F.L.S. The Pistic Nard of the
Greek Testament ... ... ... ... ... ... 144-146
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. Cylinder of Neriglissar. (3
Plates.) In the possession of Miss Ripley. ... ... 146
Sale of a Garden (in the 18th year of Samas-sum-ukin). 146
(3 Plates.) Tablet in the possession of Miss Ripley.
Max Miiller. Notes on the " Peoples of the Sea " of
Merenptah... ... ... ... ... ... ... 147-154
S. Alden Smith. Assyrian Letters. Part III. (12 Plates) 155-177
February 7, 1888.
Prof. E. Amelineau. Histoire des deux filles de I'Em-
pereur Zenon. (Read November 6, 1887.) 181-206
Robert Brown, Jun., F.S.A. Ugro-Altaic Numerals, One —
Five ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 207-214
Rev. C. J. Ball. Inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar II. Part
II. The Phillipps' Cylinder ... ... ... ... 215-230
J. Offord, Jun. The " Peoples of the Sea" of Merenptah 231
March 6, 1888.
Prof. E. Amelineau. Le Manuscrit copte No. i de la
bibliotheque de Lord Zouche 235-246
P. le Page Renouf {President). Pronominal Forms in
Egyptian 247-264
Dr. C. Bezold. A new Text concerning the Star Kak-si-di.
(3 Plates) 265
Prof E. and Dr. V. Revillout. Notice sur un nouveau
Contrat date d'Hammourabi et sur les donnees his-
toriques que nous fournissent les contrats de ce temps 266-280
Rev. James Marshall. The account of St. Paul at Athens,
illustrated by Monuments and Literature 281-286
VI CONTENTS.
PAGE
Max Miiller. Supplementary Notes to "Notes on the
Peoples of the Sea" ... ... ... ... ... 287-289
Rev. C. J. Ball. Inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar II. Part
III. The Cylinder of Mr. Rich. Part IV. A Cylinder
from Babylon. Part V. The Cylinder from Senkereh 290-299
April, 1888. (No Meeting.)
Prof Lieblein. Sur quelques Steles Egyptiennes du Musee
de Boulaq 301-304
S. Alden Smith. Assyrian Letters. Part IV. (9 Plates) 305-315
Robert Brown, Jun., F.S.A. The Etruscan Inscription of
Lemnos. {Plate) 316-328
May I, 1888.
Rev. A. LuWY. Old Jewish Legends on Biblical Topics.
II. Legendary description of Hell ... ... ... 333-342
Dr. Karl Piehl. Sur I'age de la Grotte dite Speos Arte-
midos 343-345
Robert Brown, Jun., F.S.A. The Etruscan Inscriptions of
Lemnos {continued) . . ... ... ... ... 346-358
Rev. C. J. Ball. Inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar II.
VI. The Cylinder marked 68-7-9 I 359-368
Rev. C. J. Ball. An unpublished Cylinder of Nebuchad-
rezzar I L {S Plates)
Prof Golenischeff. Le cachet bilingue du roi Tarku-
timme ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 369-371
Rev. H. G. Tomkins. The Name Genubath ... ... 372
P, le Page Renouf {President). Remarks on the Kenebtu
and the Semitic South ... ... ... ... ... 373-376
Prof A. H. Sayce. Some Greek Graffiti from Abydos.
{P^ate) 377-388
June 5, 1888.
Prof. E. Amelincau. Lcs actes coptes du martyre de St.
Polycarpe ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 391-417
Dr. C. Bezold. Remarks on some unpublished cuneiform
Syllabaries, with respect to Prayers and Incantations,
written in interlinear form. (4 Plates) ... ... ... 418-423
CONTENTS. VII
PAGE
Rev. C. T- Ball. Iranian names among the Hetta-hatte 424-364
Rev. C. J. Kail. New readings of the Hieroglyphs from
Northern Syria ... ... ... ... ... ... 437-449
Brugsch-Pasha. On the word Seb or Keb ... ... 450-451
Major Arthur H. Bagnold, R.E. Account of the manner
in which two colossal statues of Rameses II at Memphis
were raised. {^Plates) ... ... ... ... ... 452-463
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. On a Babylonian weight with
a trihngual inscription ... ... ... ... ... 464-466
Max Miiller. A contribution to the Exodus Geography 467-477
B. T. A. Evetts. An Assyrian Religious Text. (2 Plates) 478
Miss Sinicox. Eg}'ptian and Basque Marriage Contracts 479-487
Prof. A. H. Sayce. Babylonian Tablets from Tel el-
Amarna, Upper Eg}'pt ... ... ... ... ... 488-525
Theo. G. Pinches. A Babylonian Tablet. {Plate) ... 526-529
Karl Piehl. Textes Egyptiens inedits ... ... ... 530-539
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. On Cuneiform Despatches
from Tushratta, King of Mitanni, Burraburiyash, the son
of Kuri-Galzu, and the King of Alashiya, to Amenophis
IIIj King of Egypt, and on the Cuneiform Tablets from
Tell el-Amarna. (9 Plates) ... ... ... ... 540-569
W. H. Rylands {Secretary). Egyptian Engraved Ivory
in the British Museum (No. 181 75). {Plate) ... ... 570
P. le Page Renouf {President). Note on the Values of the
Sign^ 571-578
ILLUSTRATIONS,
PAGE
Double Tomb of Sabben and Mechu at Aswan, Vlth
Dynasty. {FIa>i) ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 6
Tomb of Nub-kau-Ra-necht, at Aswan, Xllth Dynasty.
{Plan) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24
Figure of Se-renput carved on pillar of the doorway of the
outer court of Tomb ... ... ... ... ... 26
View of the cattle sacrificed to the gods of Aswan and the
spearing of fish, carved on the outer face of the tomb of
Se-renput ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 30
General view of the outer court and pillars of the tomb of
Se-renput ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 34
Tomb of Se-renput at Aswan, Xllth Dynasty. {Plan) ... 36
Assyrian Letters. (9 Plates.) Tablets, K. 21, K. 80,
K. 81, K. 89, K. 478, K. 481, K. 493, K. 498, K. 522 72-73
Inscription at Kum-el-ahmar, from a copy by Prof. A. H.
Sayce ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 74-75
The Fourth Tablet of the Creation Series (No. 82-9-18,
3737). {(i Plates of Text) 86-87
Cylinder of Neriglissar. {t^ Plates of Text.) ~1
Sale of a Garden in the i8th Year of Samas-sum- ) 146-147
ukin. {t^ Plates of Text.) ... ... ... J
Assyrian Letters. (12 Plates.) K. 113, K. 146, K. 174,
K. 479, K. 492, K. 502, K. 504, K. 506, K. 507,
K. 508, K. 511, K. 526 176-177
A new Text concerning the Star Kak-si-di.
(K. 2894.) Obverse ..
Do. Reverse ..
Do. (K. 2310)
Assyrian Letters. (9 Plates.) K. 154, K. 523, K. 572,
K. 1122. 80-7-19, 17. Rm. 77. S. 1046,
82-7-4,37. {2 Plates.) 3r5
265
CONTENTS.
PAGE
418
Inscriptions from Lemnos ... ... ... ... ... 317
Text of an unpublished Cylinder of Nebuchadrezzar II.
(S jP/a^es) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 368
Early Greek Inscriptions (Graffiti) from Abydos, copied
by Prof A. H. Sayce ... ... 377
Cuneiform Syllabary, K. 4175. + Sm. 57. Obverse ..
Do. Do. Reverse ..
K. 4603, K. 8276 ..
K. 8284, K 4816 ..
The Seal (?) of Tarcondemus. ( Woodcut) ... ... ... 439
Colossus of Rameses II as it lay in the water before it was
raised, from a drawing by Henry Wallis, Esq. ... ... 452
Colossus of Rameses II during the process of raising, from
a drawing of Henry Wallis, Esq. ... ... .. ... 452
Head of the Colossus of Rameses II, from the cast in the
British Museum ... ... ... ... ... ... 452
Colossus of Rameses II, reduced from a photograph
Building at Mitraheena, for protection of colossal statue of
Rameses II ... ... ... ... ... ... 457
An Assyrian Religious Text, K. 2518. (2 Plates) ... 478
Babylonian Tablet in the possession of Mrs. Daubeney ... 526
Despatch of Tusratta, King of Midtanni, to Amenophis III,
King of Egypt 560
Obverse, 2 Plates. Reverse, 2 Plates.
Despatch from Burraburiyash, the son of Kurigalzu, King of
Karaduniyash, to Amenophis IV, King of Egypt ... 562
Obverse and reverse, 2 Plates.
Letter from an officer relating to soldiers and chariots ... 565
Despatch from the King of Alasiya to the King of Egypt 566
Obverse and reverse, 2 Plates.
Egyptian Ornament of Ivory in the British Museum ... 570
VOL. X. Kg. I.
PROCEEDINGS
THE SOCIETY
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
m-
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION.
First Meeting, \st November, 1887.
•■*■•(>-
CONTENTS,
PA3E
E. A. Waixis Budge, !\f. A. ^Excavations raade at Aswan l)y
M.ajor-General Sir V. Grenfell during the years 18S5
and 1886. [tplates) 4-40
Dr. \V. Plev'I'e. — Oracle of Anion 41-55
Prof. E. Revillout. — Letter upon Nulnan Oracles ,... 55-59
•S. Al.OEN SN:n-il. — Assyrian Letters. P:i.rt IL {c) J-Iaic-s) 60-72
P. EE Pa(.;e Rexouf.— Liscriptio.i at Kam-el-ahmar ; copied by
Prof. Savce. [J'/aic) ..: 73 78
-%'^-
PUBLISHEI) AT
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY
II, PL\RT Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
is 8 7.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
II, HarI Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PRICE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
Vol.
I, P
I,
11,
n,
III,
III,
IV,
IV,
V,
V,
VI,
VI,
VII,
VII,
VII,
VIII,
VIII,
VIII,
IX,
To Members
J.
d.
lO
6
lO
6
8
o
8
o
8
o
8
o
lO
6
10
6
12
6
lO
6
lO
6
lO
6
7
6
lO
6
lO
6
lO
6
lO
6
lO
6
lO
6
To IN
ON-
Mem
3BRS.
,v.
a'.
12
6
12
6
lO
6
10
6
lO
6
lO
6
12
6
12
6
15
o
12
6
12
6
12
6
10
6
12
6
12
6
12
6
12
6
12
6
PROCEEDINGS.
Vol. I, Session 1878-79
II,
III,
IV,
V,
VI,
VII,
VIII,
1879-80 ..
2
0
IS8O-8I ..
4
0
1881-82 ..
4
0
1882-83 ..
4
0
1883-84 ..
5
0
1884-85 ..
5
0
1885-86 ..
5
0
2
6
2
6
5
0
5
0
5
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
A few complete sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may be
obtained on ap])lication to the Secretary, W. H. Rylands, F.S.A., 11, Hart
Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
First Meeting, ist November, 1887.
REV. CANON ST. VINCENT BEECHEY,
IN THE CHAIR.
V *^ '-tjV^~
The following Presents were announced, and thanks
ordered to be returned to the Donors : —
From the Royal Society : — The Proceedings. Vol. XLII. Nos.
254, 255, 256. 8vo. London. 18S7.
From the Society of Antiquaries : — The Proceedings. Vol. XL
Part 3. 8vo. London. 1887.
From the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland : —
Vol. XIX. Part 3. July, 1887. 8vo. London.
From the Royal Institute of British Architects : — Proceedings.
Vol. III. New Series. Nos. 17, 18. 8vo. London. 1887.
The Kalendar, 1 887-1888. 8vo.
From the Royal Geographical Society: — The Proceedings. Vol.
IX. Nos. 8, 9, and 10. 8vo. London. 1887.
From the Archaeological Institute : — The Journal. Vol. XLIV.
No. 174. 8vo. London. 1887.
[No. LXX.] I B
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BI]5LTCAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1887.
From the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland : —
The Journal. Vol. XVI. No. 4. August, 1887. Vol. XVII.
No. I. 8vo. London.
From the Palestine Exploration Fund : — Quarterly Statement.
October, 1887. 8vo. London.
From the Royal Dublin Society : — The Scientific Transactions.
Vol. in. November, 1886. April and May, 1887. The
Scientific Proceedings. Vol. V. Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6. 8vo.
Dublin. 1886.
.From the Anglo-Jewish Association: — The Sixteenth Annual Re-
port. 8vo. 1886—1887.
From the Royal Asiatic Society, China Branch : — The Journal.
Vol. XXI. Nos. 5 and 6. 8vo. Shanghai. 1S86.
From the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis : — The
Journal. December, 1886. 8vo. Boston, Mass.
From the Editor : — The American Antiquarian and Oriental
Journal. Vol. IX. No. 4. 8vo. July, 1887.
From the Editor : — The American Journal of Archaeology and
History of the Fine Arts. 8vo. December, 1886. June, 1887.
Baltimore.
From the Editor : — American Journal of Philology Vol. VIII.
Part 2. July, 1887. 8vo. Baltimore.
From the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, Bollettino
delle Publicazione Italiane. Nos. 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42. 4to.
Firenze, 1886.
From the Johns Hopkins University : — The University Studies.
Fifth Series. Nos. 8 and 9. August and September, 18S7.
8vo. Baltimore.
From the Smithsonian Institution : — The Smithsonian Report.
Part I. 8vo. Washington. 1885.
From the Smithsonian Institution : — Fourth Annual Report of
the Bureau of Ethnology, 18S2— 1883. By J. W. Powell,
Director. 8vo. Washington. 18 86.
From the American Oriental Society : — -Proceedings at Boston,
May, 1887. 8vo. Boston, U.S.A.
From the Royal Society of Northern Antiquities : — Aarboger,
1887. II. R, 2. B, 2. H. Copenhagen. 8vo.
2
Nov. I] TROCEEDINGS. [1SS7.
From the Author : Vocabolario Geroghfico Copto-Ebraico del
Dott. Shiieone Levi. Vols. III. and IV. Torino. Folio.
1887.
From the Author : — Rapport a ITnstitut Egyptien sur les fouilles
et travaux executes en Egypte, pendant I'hiver 1885 — 1886.
Par G. Maspero. Le Caire. 8vo. 1887.
Extrait du Bulletin de ITnstitut Egyptien de I'annee 1886.
From the Author, G. Maspero : — Le Rituel du Sacrifice funeraire.
8vo. Paris. 1887.
Bulletin critique de la Religion Egyptienne. Revue de
I'Histoire des Religions. Vol. XV.
From the Author : — Bemerkungen iiber E-sagila, in Babel und
E-zida in Borsippa zur Zeit Nebuchadrezzars 11. Von C. P.
Tiele. 8vo.
From the Author : — Pharaoh the Oppressor and his Daughter, in
the light of their Monuments. By John A. Paine. 8vo.
The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. Vol. XXXIV.
May, 1887. No. I.
From the Author : — Epitaphs, collected by Old Mortality, Jun.
8vo. London. 1S87.
From the Author : — The Language of the Ancient Egyptians and
its Monumental Records. By Charles E. Moldenke, A.M.,
Ph.D. 8vo. New York. 1S87.
Reprinted from the Trans. New York Academy of Sciences.
Vol. IV.
The following were nominated for election at the next
Meeting on 6th December, 1887 : —
Rev. J. M. Acland, The Clergy House, Kilburn Park Road.
Professor E. Amehneau, 43, Boulevard St. Germain, Paris.
George H. Birch, F.S.A., 2, Devreux Chambers, Devreux Court,
Temple, E.C.
Mrs. Goodison, Coniston Bank, Coniston, nr. Ambleside.
Major General Sir Francis Grenfell, K.C.B., 11, Halkin Street,
Belgrave Square, S.W.
Professor Henri Hyvernat, Via dell' Anima, 39, Rome.
Professor Albert L. Long, D.D., Robert College, Constantinople.
Rev. Professor Robert W. Rogers, B.A., 621, North 37th Street,
Philadelphia.
Rev. John Urquhart, 8, Coombe Road, Weston-super-Mare.
3 R 2
N-.V. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGV. [1887.
The following Paper was read by E. A. WalUs Budge, M. A.,
on the Excavations made at Aswan, by Major-General
Sir F. Grenfell, during the years 1885 and 1886.
In the year 1885, the British Consular Agent at Aswan, Mustafa
Sliakir, learned that quantities of Egyptian antiquities were being
found in the hill nearly opposite to the modern town of Aswan, and
that they were being sold rapidly to the traveller and tourist. He
found that many of the objects thus sold were, archaeologically, of
great importance, and in order to stop the miscellaneous distribution
of valuable antiquities, he asked, and obtained official permission to
excavate the tombs in the hill, on the understanding that one half ot
any antiquities which might be discovered by him were to go to the
Museum at BCilak. He set to work with a number of men, and
emptied a huge cliamber, or tomb, which he found to be filled with
a large number of decayed and broken coffins. The officer com-
manding at Aswan in that year was General (now Sir) F. W. Grenfell.
'J'his gentleman had studied Egyptian archeology with great success,
and recognized immediately he saw what class of things had been
found by Mustafa Shakir, how very important it was to continue the
work of excavation. By an arrangement with the authorities at the
B(ilak Museum, he undertook the sole responsibility of further ex-
cavations,* which he carried out at his own expense. His works of
excavation were most successful, and produced very important
results. He brought to light some tombs of the Vlth and XHth
Dynasties, and discovered a stone staircase of an unique nature ; all
of which I shall describe presently. In November of last year I was
sent out to Egypt by the Trustees of the British Museum, and
inter alia was directed to copy such inscriptions as remained on the
walls of the rock-hewn tombs discovered by General Grenfell the
year before, and, under his direction, to continue the work of
excavation. I arrived at Port Said early in the morning of Tuesday
the 30th of November ; I set out with Sir F. Grenfell for Asyut on the
following Friday ; and proceeded by Mr. Cook's new and splendid
steamer, the " Prince Abbas," to Aswan, where we arrived on Sunday
morning the 12th of December. Sir F. Grenfell, the Sirdar of the
* " Le Cicneral CrenfL-Il, qui commandail a Assouan, interesse par ce premier
resultat se substitua au sieur Moustapha et fit conlinucr les travaux par les soldals
egyptiens places sous ses ordres." Maspero, Rapport a rinstitut ^.gypticn :
Cairo, 1887, p. zz-
4
Nov. I] rROCEEDIXGS. [1S87.
Egyptian Army, took me across the river to the tombs, and showed
me what had already been excavated by him during the previous
winter, and what still remained to be done. A very brief examina-
tion of the hill convinced me that we should be able to do com-
paratively very little excavating during the short time I could stay
at Aswan, and it was decided that it would be best to confine
our labours to completely clearing out the most important of the
tombs already discovered, and then, if time permitted, to dig for
new ones. But before I go any further it will perhaps be well to
say a few words about the situation and surroundings of the town of
Aswan.
The town of Aswan is situated in lat. 24"" 5' 25"* on the right
or east bank of the Nile, near the first Cataract, and is a little to
the north of the tropic of Cancer; it is the extreme southern
frontier town of Egypt f separating it from Nubia. Aswan, or
Syene, was originally the island of Elephantine, but little by little
the town on the right bank came to be classed under this name.
It is very hard to fix the exact spot where the old town stood, but
it certainly lay more to the south-west than the present town does,
and it occupied the slope of the hill. The greater number of
Egyptian towns are, and have been, built on a plain, but strategical
purposes probably caused the ancient inhabitants to seize upon and
to make good use of such an important natural feature of the place.-j:
However far back we go, Aswan must always have been an important
place to the dwellers in the valley of the Nile, though it is only in
comparatively late times that we find mentioned the hieroglyphic
name from whence the modern Arabic name, Aswan, is derived. In
the early Egyptian inscriptions the town called Elephantine by the
ancients, which was the metropolis of the first nome of Upper Egypt, is
called tJ^^®>or^J^^^ Abu, /..., 'the town,
or country of the elephant ;' § and the divinities worshipped there
Eratosthenes fixed the distance of Aswan from the Equator at 24°. See
Strabo II, 7, pp. 93, 94, Didot's edition ; and Mannert, Geographie der Griechen
U7id Romer, X, p. 321.
t Strabo, Didot's edition, pp. 693, 48; 669, 3.
X For the general topography of Aswan, see Description de Syem et des
Cataracfes, par E. Jomard, in Description de PEgypte, Vol. I, pp. 121-174,
and plate 31 of the same work.
§ See Brugsch, Dictionnaire Gcographique, p. tio; and Bnigsch, Geo-
giaphisclie Inschriften, Vol. I, p. 154.
5
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIDLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGV. [1887.
were Chneni, Sati, and Sept. As we come down to the time of the
Ptolemies, we find that the name Abu disappears, and that I -^^ ,
Sn/ifiii, takes its place.* Sunnu must have been the recognized
name of the place as early as the time of Ezekiel, for this prophet
defines the northern and southern limits of Egypt by the words
n2p ^"^^irpp,! "from Migdol to Sweneh,"J and Sweneh is the
Hebrew form of the Greek 'Ein'pnj. The words ' from Migdol to
Sweneh' meant all Egypt, just as 'from Dan to Beersheba' meant
all Palestine ; the Copt said ' from Rakoti (Alexandria) to Souan ; ' §
and Diocletian appointed governors throughout all Egypt from
'Alexandria to Philas.'H
The Coptic forms of the names of Sunnu are CO'y<Lrt and certOft ;
but the first is the more common, If and is that upon which the
Arabs based their name As^can for the city Sunnu. The Coptic
name, COY^Lrt, means the ' opener,' and refers to Aswan as the
' key ' of Nubia going southwards, or of Egypt going northwards.
The various hieroglyphic forms of this name are ft_.^3 , .^^^j >
n ^^ M <-i Q H Q Q ^^® /v^A/v^A ©
farm of the name Siiitdn,, see Lepsius, Denkiniiler, VI, 37, and Brugsch, Diet.
Geog., pp. 666, 667.
t Ezek. xxix, 10; xxx, 6. The Targum has HDID W^SP Peshitta jj Vp
IJq^j, Arab. J^{^ j/j^^J^ ^^, Ethiop. p^^'i : c^^^A^ I H^iiT^ :
IJrit. iMus. Ms. Or. 484, fol. 137 /^ col. 3. 11. Coptic ICXeit JULIXTToX
(or JULIXTtJoX) OJ^. COTA.n (or CCO'y^.rt). U<.X, a-rb MaycwK^v
icai '^viji'iiQ. Cod. Alex, has the forms Eoijinjc, 2oi'(/i'/^(,.
X It would proljably he more correct to write nj.lD. See Gesenius, T/iesaiiri/s,
p. 942. The word is actually thus pointed in some of the modern editions of
the Targums.
§ Zoega, Catalogus, 23, 129; Kircher, Lingiia Aegj'ptiaca restituta, p. 211.
II ICren p^-Kcf" Cy^. niX^.J<^ Hyvemat, Les Actes des
Martyrs de Pl^gj'pte, p. 135.
^ See Quatremere, Mcnioires Gcog. et Hist., Tom. I, p. 280; Champollion,
r ^,^>pte sous les Pharaons, Tom. I, p. 163; and Champollion, Grannnaire^ I»
PP- 125, 153.
6
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
The Arabic form of Sunnu as given by Yakut * and Ibn-Khalikan in
his lives of celebrated men is ^\yj^, Uswanu f ^^S^\ J f>^^.)
(.-jjll. J.i ; and Abu 1-Fida says that he considers this way of spelling
the name to be correct. | The form ^\^^J\ is also very common.
Apart from the importance of Aswan as a military station and
frontier town, it obtained great notoriety among the ancients, from
the fact that Eratosthenes and Ptolemy § considered it to be on the
tropic of Cancer,!! and the most northerly point where, at the time
of the summer solstice, the sun's rays fell vertically, H and objects
such as trees and animals cast no shadow there ; ** also the day was
said to be 13^^ hours long in this place. ft I^^ the times of the
Ptolemies there was a famous well there into which the sun was said
to shine at the summer solstice, sending his rays perpendicularly
into it, and illuminating it in every part : W ^"<i the sun was said to fit
^CiJc^J ^ <^ 9 P ^
* See ^Uloll ^^svx^ t->ll^ ed. Wiistenfeld, Vol. I, p. Tl^ .
t For Arabic accounts of Aswan, see Gcographie cT Aboulft'da par M. Reinaud,
Tom. II, pp. 142, 155, 156; Y&Mt, ed. Wustenfeld, Vol. I, p. Tl^ ; Edrisi,
Description de PAfriqiie et de VEspagiie, ed. Dozy et de Goeje, p. 26 ; Istachri,
Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum, ed. de Goeje, pp. 48 and 52 ; Macrizi,
Lksvll t—jUi, Bulik edition, Vol. I, pp. \^V — \'|^.
X ^,^'^\ y^. 'i>JAl\ ^.- ^yJ\- Gcog. d:Aboulfcda,\>7ix V^. Reinaud
and Mac Guckin de Slane : Paris, 1840, p. 'WT' .
§ Ptolemy, Geog. VII, 5. See also Steph. Byzan. sub voce, and Itin.
Attton., p. 164.
II As a matter of fact, the town lies about 0° 37' 23" north of the tropic
of Cancer, and the shadow falls ^iyth out of the perpendicular.
^ Strabo, II, 7 ; Didot's edit., p. 94 ; and p. no, line 10.
KoX IV '2vrjvp ry irpo AiOioiriag ovte dtrb SevSpwv ovrs and tuiv 1!,(jiujv
ytvioQai OKiav iffrt. Pausanias, Lib. VIII, 6, Didot's edit., p. 415.
ft Strabo, Didot's edit., p. no.
XX Arrian Hist. Indica, ch. 26, 7. Strabo, XVII, 1. 48, Didot's edit., p. 694.
So also Pliny (Nat. Hist., II, 73) " tradunt in Syene oppido, quod est supra
Alexandriam quinque milibus stadium, solstiti die medio muUam umbram iaci,
puteumque ejus experimenti gratia factum totum inluminari." So also Ammianus
MarceUinus (XXII, 15, 31). " Dein Syene, in qua solstitii tempore, quo sol
aestinum cursum extendit, recta omnia ambientes radii excedere ipsis corporibus
umbras non sinunt, inde si stipitem quisquam fixerit rectum vel hominem aut
arborem viderit stantem, circa lineamentorum ipsas extremitates contemplabitur
umbras absumi. "
7
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1SS7.
the well like the cover of a vessel. Up to the present, however, no
trace of this well has been found by modern excavators and travellers,
and as we have no definite account of its situation given us by
ancient writers, it seems very doubtful if we shall ever hear any more
of it unless it is stumbled across by chance.
At the side of the temple opposite to the modern town of Aswan
there was a Kilometer with a carefully graduated scale by which the
priests were able to measure the risings of the Nile,* and to calculate
how much harm or good would be done to the land by its waters.
According to Plutarch t the Nile rose at Elephantine to the height
of 28 cubits, and a very interesting text quoted by Brugsch | from a
copy of an inscription at EdfQ, made by Diimichen, states that if the
Nile rises 24 cubits ^^ hands at Elephantine, it will water the country
satisfactorily. The extract reads : K^=^ D / <c — ^ [] Q. a;^^
O T 2^^^ 'w^AA^ T O J . „ ,^J] ' .' ' .' cz^::^ 111 "■ ^ ^-L-
Ci ® O II II I I I I
.-^ .^-^"^^1 A ^== n ^ (WWW ,;^^ \y
\AAAAA
(Nile) comes from the caverns at his season, and rises at Elephantine
24 cubits 3 hands and i quarter hand, without failure or obstruction
in it, comes Hapi to inundate the land." Elephantine is mentioned
in this inscription, probably because there were no accurate Nilometers
further north in Egypt in those times. The Greeks thought § that
the fountains of the Nile were situated a little above the town of
Aswan ; and this belief was common down to a late date, for Bar
Hebrceus relates in his Chronicle, that when a certain Abd 'Ali Hasan
undertook to perform some work on the Nile which should benefit
Egypt and her people and enrich her rulers, " he went to the hill
opposite to the town of Aswan, I| from which the waters of the Nile
* Strabo, XVn, i, 48, Didot's edit., p. 694.
t De Isid. et Osirid., 43.
X Ghg. Diet., p. 112; Aeg. Zeitschrift, 1865, p. 43.
§ Herodotus, 2, 30 ; Strabo, XVII, i, 52, Didot's edit., p. 695.
II .Syriac forms of this name are .(QflDJ, liar I Ida., 222; jJo|flD, Bar
Ileb., 154, 10; ^QIuIqCD, CDQialaCD, and .»J.j')q£D, though Payne
Smith {7'hcs. Syr., col. 2540) would prefer . 1 .]nffr) or ^o],CD.
8
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1SS7.
descend and flow, and he examined and saw that the mighty force of
those waters could not be overcome." *
Among the ancient Egyptians Aswan, or Syene, was justly cele-
brated for the beautiful granite,t which was to be found on the
island of Elephantine, and on the east bank of the Nile nearly
opposite to this island. The granite hill on the mainland was called
tu tes/ier, i.e., 'the red mountain,'^ and the granite itself is styled
\\ <crr> /wwv\ 7t( v\ @ dner en Abu, 'stone of Abu or
Elephantine.' When, however, Hatshepsu made two granite obelisks
in honour of 'father Amen,' she says in her inscriptions on them
that she made them of ^ ^ iiiab, or granite. Granite obelisks
^ z=n ' "^
and huge granite stelae command the admiration of all beholders,
but it is not until one sees the massive unfinished granite obelisk
lying undetached from its native rock in the quarries at Aswan, that
it is possible to realize the amount of labour and skill involved in
successfully hewing out a piece of granite 115 feet long by 1 1 square,
and floating it down the river and setting it upright. Then one
understands how it was that 2,000 men took three years to bring a
block of granite from Aswan to Sais for Amasis, as narrated by
Herodotus (II, 175). The unfinished obelisk at Aswan has attracted
the notice of all travellers, and invited the speculations of many of
theai as to the way in which such huge masses of granite were
detached from the rock.§ Yakut || in his geographical dictionary
tells us that Abu Bekr Harawi saw in Aswan, near the village called
Bilak or Birak (Philae), " a long red striped stone with its head buried
in the sand and that he measured as much of it as was visible ; he
found that it was 25 cubits long and 7 cubits square. Some told
^QJOl llisD? Bar. Heb. Chron., p. 222, 11. S and 9.
t The Syenite granite pyrropcecilus of Pliny, XXXVI, 157, 63. The
granite beds extend from Phila; to Aswan.
X Brugsch, ' Egypt under the Pharaohs,' I, pp. 74 and 75.
§ See Pococke's Travels in Egypt, p. 263.
II Yakut, ed. Wiistenfeld, Vol. I, p. Tl^.
9
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1887.
him that it was intended to serve as a bridge over the narrow part of
the Nile there, and others told him that it was the fellow of the
'needle ' in Alexandria." * I think that there can be no doubt that
the writer refers to the unfinished obelisk, even though he says that
it was near Philae. Certain it is, however, that from the time of
Mycerinus, who covered his pyramid with granite,! until that of the
Ptolemies who inscribed their edicts upon it, the hard beautiful
granite of Aswan was extensively used by the kings of Egypt when-
ever they desired to erect handsome and lasting buildings.
On the edge of one of the oldest worked quarries there are to
be seen the remains of a very old Muhammedan cemetery with
gravestones inscribed in Cufic characters. I saw there several dated
in the first and second centuries of the Hegira, but they could not
have been in their proper places, for there were as many as three or
four together loose. The writing on these early gravestones is plain
and entirely without ornament ; the size of the stones is about
15 in. X 9 in., and the inscriptions are neither so nicely nor so deeply
cut as on those of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries of the
Hegira. On the flat raised borders of the stones of the third and
fourth centuries painted ornaments are found, and sometimes a
declaration of the unity of God coupled with the statement that
Muhammed is His prophet. I should have tried to take "squeezes"
of all the early gravestones I saw, but for the fact that all the
paper which I had taken with me for the purpose, together with
the squeezes of inscriptions which I had already made, was
destroyed by the violent rain-storm which broke over Aswan early
•i^ J ,\ -ih U Jjij L 'i ,.,^ [jj J \j^,is. lIJ'I-*^-^ Li.^'^,.
A^W ilki AJ! cU:^ , * i ,y%ssC c'.c^y* *J'Ue •J^1 ^LJULJI Uj ^^.^«J
■'.
t See Silvestre dc Sacy, Relation de Vfigypte, pp. 173, 214.
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
in J-inuary of this year. Nearer the town are two other Muham-
medan cemeteries filled with inscribed gravestones, but all of a very
recent date.
The Ptolemaic temple at Aswan, half excavated, I shall not
attempt to describe, for it has already been done by Jomard : * it
will be sufficient to say that only part of the surface of the walls
has been sculptured, and that the execution of what has been done
is not good. In the time of the Ptolemies Aswan was connected with
Philee by a road which ran in an eastward direction, and the remains
of a brick wall five or six feet thick are still visible. A little to
the north of the English ' Main Guard,' and in a straight line with
Mr. Cook's office, are the remains of a projecting brick building
with windows and alcoves, which is said by some to have
been an aqueduct, and by others a bath. Sir Gardner Wilkinson
thought that it was work of the Arabic period, but the layers
of burnt bricks and the mortar ■which remain, recall to mind the
method of building employed by the Romans. Lower down in the
Nile is a huge rock upon which still remain layers of brickwork
of the same make as those used in the projecting building : there
can be little doubt that a small brick tower was built upon this rock
as a ' look-out ' station by the Romans. Not far from Aswan there
was a famous emerald pit, and Edrisi f states that its product was
sold at Aswan, and that there was no other pit in the world. In
Ptolemaic times Aswan was celebrated for its wine, and the
[1 I ^^ g^, arj> St/nnf, 'wine of Sunnu,' was famed for its
goodness. J Of the size of Aswan in ancient times we have no exact
idea, but it was probably neither very large, nor very inviting as a place
of residence. Strabo tells us § that there was a garrison of three Roman
cohorts stationed here, but the other residents would principally be
quarrymen and people engaged in traffic and barter with the people
of Nubia. About the year 95 a.d. Juvenal was appointed (i.e.,
banished) to a military command at Syene by the emperor
* Description de Syene, in Description de P^gypte, I, p. 133. The text
on the walls has been published by Mariette in Monuments Divers, plates
22 — 26.
t Description de rA/rique et de VEspagne, ed. Dozy et de Goeje, p. 26.
J Brugsch Diet. Gcog., p. 65.
§ XVIL, I, 4S, Didol's ecL, p. 694
II
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1S87.
Domitian for satirising the comedian Paris. The great satirist
revenged himself on the Egyptians by writing his fifteenth satire,
and there can be no doubt what he thought of Egypt when we
read the lines : —
Horrida sane
yEgyptus, sed luxuria, f|uantum ipse notavi,
Barljara famoso non ccdit turba Canijpo. Sat. XV, 44-46.
The desert and rock-bound Aswan could not have been a con-
genial dwelling place for the cultured Juvenal, and though Martial
speaks (Epig. v, 1 3) of the ' large farms ' of Syene, he does not esteem
Aswan highly, as we may see from his well-known line (Ep. ix, 35) : —
Scis, quotiens Phario madeat love fusca Syene.
In spite of the various storms of war and conquest by the Persians,
the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, and the Turks which have
swept over Aswan from century to century, the little town continued
to hold its place and be famous for various commodities. Macrizi *
tells us that the soil produces corn and vegetables in great
abundance, that there are great quantities of camels, oxen, and
excellent sheep to be found there, and that the ground is covered
with palm trees. | The place is, and always has been, an important
market-town for the disposal of articles of commerce from Nubia.
The Arab historians agree in saying that Aswan is a small but very
populous town, and it is said that 20,000 people once died there of
the plague.:]: Before the English expedition into Egypt, the population
of Aswan was about four thousand, but I was informed this year by
the English Consular Agent that it was then about ten thousand.
In the twelfth century Aswan was the seat of a bishop, and we
know that in the year of the Martyrs, 889 (a.d. 1173), the
episcopal throne was occupied by one Theodore, and that the
Turks came to Upper Egypt and captured Ibrim.§
And now having mentioned the principal things relating to the
town of Aswan on the east bank of the Nile, it is time to consider
that i)art of the western bank op])osite to it. A little to the south-
west of Atrun island is a small and sandy valley which opens out on
* Quatremerc, Mcmoires, II, p. 4.
t Reinaud, Geog. d'Ahotilfcda, II, p. 155; Edrisi, Description de C A frique, ed.
Dozy et de Coeje, p. 26.
X Sir (\. Wilkinson, in Murray's Egypf.
§ Kcciicil dc Travaiix, VII, p. 218.
12
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1C87.
to the Nile. After walking for about twenty minutes, the traveller
comes upon the still fine ruins of a very old Coptic convent which
was built as far back as the sixth or seventh century of our era, and
is called to-day ^>_J^\ >j, or 'West-minster.' Egypt has always
been a place of refuge for the persecuted Christians, and as early as
the time of Diocletian thousands upon thousands of recluses, monks,
and anchorites made Upper Egypt their dwelling place. The rocky
defiles of the mountains, and the violated chambers of the tombs of
the ancient Egyptians offered such shelter and protection as were not
to be found elsewhere. I have not been able to find out to whom
this convent was originally dedicated : Pococke thought to Saint
George,* because of " his picture, as big as life," being there, but as
Saint George is the chief of all the saints in the Coptic Church, and
his picture is found everywhere, I do not think that statement is to
be relied upon. The convent is a veritable fortress, and when in
good condition must have been exceedingly strong. It is situated
on the slope of a detached mountain, from the top of which a good
view of all the valleys and hills round about could be obtained ; this
was very important for the monks, because they would be able to
see an enemy while yet afar off The walls of the convent are very
thick, and strong enough to resist every missile of early times : the
tops of the walls were paraded by sentinels, and on that facing the
Nile a deep hollow path has been worn by the feet of those who
kept guard. The door is on the northern side, near the east corner.
On entering, a small courtyard is found, from which lead winding
passages to galleries raised one above the other by nearly regular
intervals, so that in the event of the courtyard being taken by assault,
the invading foe would have to fight his way piece by piece, through
passage after passage, until he had overcome the resistance offered
by the defenders in each gallery, which, it is hardly necessary to say,
would offer excellent vantage ground to the besieged. The whole
piece of ground enclosed by the convent walls is divided into three
stages each raised some distance above the other, and communication
with each of these was made by means of stone staircases without
either shelter or rails. On the uppermost stage, which is formed by
the flat top of the hill, is a turret built of crude stone, from which a
good ' look-out ' could be kept. The central or main building is
traversed by a wide vaulted gallery on each side of which is a series of
* Travels in Egypt, p. 263.
^3
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIDLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1887,
small narrow brick chambers with doorways opening into the gallery.
The monks who inhabited these cells left their names either written in
red ochre or scratched on the walls, but as far as I could see there
was no inscription of importance. At one end of the gallery is the
choir, which is surmounted by a small dome. In the centre of the
dome is painted in colours, which are even now comparatively
brif^ht, a very pretty Coptic pattern, examjiles of which are
found from time to time in Coptic MSS. Below this there are a
number of divisions in which are painted our Saviour, Michael,
Gabriel, Saint George, the twelve Apostles, and six or seven other
saints whom I was not able to identify. The small cells round
about the choir are covered with hastily and badly written inscrip-
tions, and close by is a well. To the east of the convent is the
cemetery. Major G. T. Plunkett, R.E., and myself went there one
afternoon and examined the graves. We found a series of low
ridges which indicated the places where the bodies had been laid
on each side of a broad path. The graves were dug to the depth
of about two feet, and in these the bodies of the monks, loosely
wrapped in rough linen, were laid. M. Maspero collected several
pieces of stuff from these graves, of red and white, yellow and red,
and red and blue collars.* The tombs were covered over with flat
slabs of stone, and each contained a small stele giving the name of
the person buried there, and the date of his death. f The first
father of this convent was called Pousi, Bishop of Philse,! but the
stele which gives this information breaks off here, and we are ignorant
of the date of his rule over the convent. The monks of the convent
appear to have been very poor, and it is quite certain that if they
ever did acquire wealth, it was soon taken out of their hands by the
hordes of savage soldiery employed by the Turks and others to fill
the garrison of Aswan. Within a few yards of one corner of the
convent the telegraph wire to Khartum runs, a conspicuously
modern object beside the decaying convent twelve hundred
years old.§
* Maspero, Rapport a rinstiliit fls^ypiicn, 1885, 1886, p. 30.
t Some of the Coptic stela; from Aswan have been puljlished l)y Boiiiianl in
Recueil des Travatix, V. 63.
X Maspero, Rapport, \>. 31.
§ An excellent engraving of this convent is printed in Ebers, Egypt,
Vol. I, p. 196.
14
Nov. I] TROCEEDINGS. [1SS7.
On the same side of the river as the convent, but about a mile to
the north, we come to the scene of Sir F. Grenfell's excavations,
which were made in a hill in Western Aswan {i.e., COT^Lft
ijLITSJULem") or Contra Syene. At this point the low undulating
range of hills which faces the whole of the island of Elephantine,
rises up into a bold headland, which has been found to be literally
honeycombed with tombs, tier above tier, of various epochs. In
ancient days there was down at the water's edge a massive stone quay,
from which a broad fine double staircase, cut in the living rock,
ascended to a layer of firm rock about 150 feet higher. At Thebes
and at Beni-hassan, where such staircases must have existed, they
have been destroyed, and only the traces remain which show that
they ever existed. At Aswan it is quite different, for the whole of
this remarkable staircase is intact. The staircase begins at the
bottom of the slope, well above the highest point reached by the
waters of the Nile during the inundation, and following the outward
curve of the hill, ends in a platform in front of the highest tombs.
Between each set of steps which form the staircase is a slope, up
which the coffins and sarcophagi were drawn to the tomb by the
men who walked up the steps on each side. At the bottoni of
the staircase the steps are only a few inches deep, but towards
the top they are more than a foot. On each side of the staircase
is a wall which appears to be of a later date than the staircase itself,
and about one third of the way up there is a break in each wall,
which appears to be a specially constructed opening leading to
passages on the right and left respectively. It is very doubtful if
the walls existed when the upper tombs were made, for they appear
to have been made about the Roman period. Sir F. Grenfell
cleared the staircase most thoroughly from sand, but less than eight
months after it was blocked up almost as completely as if it had
never been cleared at all. It was decided that before we did any-
thing else, it was necessary to clear the staircase once more, both for
the passage of the Egyptian soldiers who were going to dig out the
tombs, and for the purpose of seeing this remarkable object. Sir F.
Grenfell told off forty soldiers for the excavations, and with these we
set to work to clear the staircase. Shortly after we began, we
discovered at the top four small chambers under the walls in which
mummies had been deposited. In the largest of these there was a
coffin, on the foot of which I saw traced in black outline the figure
of a bull with a mummy upon his back, made certainly during the
15
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL'EOLOGY. [1S87.
Roman occupation of Egypt. In the afternoon of the foUowhig day
1 went over to the river with Mustafa Shakir to take the coffin out
and see what the mummy was like, and if there were any inscriptions
upon it. When we came to the spot we found that the coffin and
mummy had disappeared as completely as if they had never existed.
Further inquiries did not produce any satisfactory information, and
we had to be content with the statement of the watchman who knew
nothing about anything whatsoever. Before we leave the stone
staircase, I must say that the soldiers of the nth Company of Royal
Engineers, under Major G. T. Plunkett, rey)aired the walls in several
places, and placed horizontal wooden supports between parts of
the walls at intervals to strengthen them. Before I left Aswan
some of these had gone the way of all wood in Egypt, and had no
doubt helped to boil some Egyptian's coffee. Another very excellent
piece of work which the same company of Engineers did was to
bracket together with a stout iron band the two cracked parts of a
huge stone over the doorway at one end of the so-called ' Pharaoh's
bed ' at Philse. Had this stone fallen it would no doubt have
brought others after it, and would certainly have destroyed the fine
effect of that building on the beautiful little island of Philge.
In the hill of the tombs at Aswan there are three distinct layers
of stone which have been chosen by the ancient Egyptians for the
purpose of excavating tombs. The finest layer, and the thickest, is
at the top, and this has been chosen principally by the architects of
the Vlth Dynasty for the sepulchres of the rulers of Elephantine.
The tombs in all cases here follow the track of the layers of stone,
and when the seam is thick, the tombs are high ; when it is thin, the
tombs are small. The first tomb excavated by Sir F. Grenfell was
that which has since been numbered 25 and 26, and of which a plan
and section is given on Plate I. He found therein tons of fragments
of coffins, the remains of burnt mummies which had fallen to pieces,
several small coarse earthenware pots, and some funereal tablets.
The tablets were made of the common stone of the mountain, and
were inscribed some in hieroglyphics, and some in Demotic charac-
ters. Some of these found their way to the Biilak Museum, where
they were shown to me by the courtesy of Brugsch Bey, and I saw
a few in the house of Mustafa Shakir. 'i'he tablets belong to a very
late period, the inscriptions being very carelessly done ; and they are
nearly all dedicated to Chnem, the principal deity of the triad of
ancient Aswan, which consisted of Chnem, Sati, and Sept. I was
16
Ihoceeduuf^ Soc. Bibl Arch, NoV^
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1SS7.
shown some few jisliahtiu figures, which looked as if they had been
made at a time when the form of Osiris and the hieroglyphic charac-
ters had been forgotten. Several hundreds of wooden faces of
coffins had been preserved simply because they had been made of a
harder wood than the rest of the coffins ; and there were also in the
house of Mustafa the upper parts of some stone coffins which showed
how degraded Egyptian art had become at the time when they were
made.
The tombs excavated by Sir F. Grenfell belong to, and were made
at, two different periods, viz., the Vlth and Xllth Dynasties. We
are quite certain of this fact, because the names of kings who were
reigning over Egypt when they were made are given. The largest
and most important tomb of the earlier epoch is that of Sab-ben (or
Sabbena, or Sabbent), at the top of the stone staircase. On the
right hand side of the door of this tomb is a partially erased inscrip-
tion of nineteen lines, which record the titles and dignities held by
the man for whom the tomb was built, and which state that he was an
officer in the service of His Majesty Pepi II, a monarch of the Vlth
Dynasty. Many parts of the inscription are nearly effaced, and the
breaking away of the softer seams of stone in the hill has destroyed
the continuity of the lines ; but I took careful squeezes, and a copy
of what is left of the text will be published as soon as possible. In
the last line but one of this inscription, and on the left hand side of
the door of the tomb ( 0 J LJ | Nefer-ka-Rd, the prenomen of
Pepi II ( ° [ [ I , is inscribed. Pepi II, the <P/oi/r of Manetho, is
said to have reigned about one hundred years. He built a pyramid
at Sakkara, which was opened in 1881, and a town which was called
after his name. His mother's name was Anch-nes-meri-Ra, and that
of his brother, who reigned before him, Mer-en-Ra. * Anch-nes-meri-
Ra was not of royal blood, but was the daughter of an untitled father
and mother called © ^ (j ^ X^'^ ^"d Jr^ ^ "i^o^l re-
spectively. The name and titles of Pepi II are found inscribed on
rocks at Wady Maghara, Girgeh, El-kab, and Elephantine, as well as
on the walls of the tombs excavated by Sir F. Grenfell. Very little is
known of the events which happened in Egypt during the reign of
Pepi II, but the civil administration of the provinces appears to
have been placed in the hands of able servants of the king. Pepi II,
* See Mariette, Cat., Monuments cTAhydos, p. 85.
17 C
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1887.
like his father, took care to appoint skilful governors over Elephantine
and ancient Aswan, and it is the tonib of one of these which we will
now describe.
The entrance to the tomb is made through a rectangular
opening, in which is a small doorway about one third of the height
of the opening ; that is to say, we enter the tomb through a door
within a door. The roof and upper part of the walls have been
smoked black by the smoke arising from mummies and coffins
burnt there.
On the right hand side of the doorway* is a figure of Sabben,
the man for whom the tomb was made. Above him is inscribed : —
y\ a At* I T 1 '■'^■^^ l''^ ^'^^ ^"^^ ^^^^^ Sfiier uat x^^ h^^b wfr set meh
ab siitai em res7i Sabben. " Sabben,f the prince, inspector,
president of the South, the extraordinary smer, the ministrant,
the president of the countries filling the heart of the King in
the South." Sabben holds a sceptre, y, and by the side of this
0 /I\ I 1 1 T j hwww "Devoted to Anubis upon his hill, Sabben the
prince, inspector, extraordinary smer, and ministrant." A ^ka
priest,' ''n\ called © ^ (1 Chua, stands before him pouring out a
libation, and by his side is a son of Sabben, who held the same
dignities as his father. The inscription over the doorway reads,
"The prince, inspector, extraordinary smer, the ministrant devoted
to Osiris in his every seat, Sabbent." =^ vM^ ' T R J
left hand side of the doorway are figures of Sabben, his son, and a ka
priest called P "^ I ^^^ Se-rut-nefer-f, " Making his beauty to
increase ; " and above them is a repetition of the name and titles
of Sabben. The roof of this tomb is supported by rough-hewn
* A woodcut of this doorway is given in Maspero's V Archeologie £gyp-
tienne, p. 26, and another of the staircase on p. 141 of the same work.
t This name is speU ' J aaa^^ in Lepsius, Dcuknidlcr, II, bL 94 a.
18
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [18S7.
square stone pillars, and on the side of the first pillar on the right
as we enter is a standing figure of Sabben. His face is painted
red, and his hair black, and he wears a white linen tunic tucked
in at the waist and terminating in a point below the knees. His
titles are inscribed above him. This painting has been made upon
a thin layer of plaster laid upon the surface of the pillar, and I
regret to say that some dozen names neither ancient nor Egj'ptian
have been inscribed upon it. On another side of the pillar are
two figures dressed in the same manner pouring out libations.
Above are two lines of hieroglyphics which read, I 0 |J [1 ^ ^
^^w°^1^;SHTZ'^ " -
Chua, devoted to his lord, delighting to do the behests of his lord
every day." On the second pillar on the right as we enter is a
plastered surface 3 ft. x 18 in., and upon this is represented a
man making an offering. In rudely cut hieroglyphics are inscribed
beneath him the following lines : —
*^ III*
Exactly opposite the doorway is a large plastered surface on which is
painted a figure of the deceased in a boat spearing fish, 'while his
son, or a friend, also in a boat, is catching the birds which rise up
from the papyrus plants. He is followed by many servants. The
painting has been nearly obscured by smoke, and the name and
titles of the deceased can only be made out with difticulty. Above
the fresco is a niche which probably contained a statue of the
deceased. In the early morning the sun shines full upon the fishing
scene, and it is best seen at this time. To the left of this scene
is a false door, fashioned after the manner of the doors of the
Vlth Dynasty, and inscribed with the usual scene, table of offerings,
* The characters which are here represented by ^^^ I could not read.
19 C 2
Nov. i] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHyEOLOGY. [1887.
etc., and the name and titles of the deceased. On each side of the
sni:ill door, within this large door is a standing figure of the deceased
making offerings to the gods Anubis and Osiris. To the left of
this false door is a hollow which leads to a long winding chamber,
which was used in late times for storing mummies, remains of which
we found scattered everywhere. I suspect that careful excavations
would lead to the discovery of a shaft and chamber in which the
man for whom the tomb was originally made was buried. Passing
by this, still going to the left, we enter what was originally a
second tomb, in which are eighteen rough-hewn round pillars which
taper slightly towards the roof. The tomb is of the same period as
that of Sabben, and was made for a man of like rank and dignity
called Mechu |^ © ^, or Chemu © |^^. Maspero thinks that it
was violated shortly after it was made, and that it was enlarged, and
the partition between the two tombs removed by the new owner
about the time of the Xllth Dynasty.* The entrance to this tomb
is not made through a door wiihin a door, as in the case of that of
Sabben, and there is no trace of the second door ever having existed.
The outside wall of the tomb appears never to have been inscribed.
On the left hand side of the door is a figure of the deceased Mechu,
and close by him is his son Meri, -""^iX. [j [| , the ' prince and in-
spector.' In front of him stands his wife, a priestess of Athor,
and above her is inscribed ^ S n_ ^ ^^^^ t ^^ [^ ^
U I ^^^^- Beneath these figures is a man called
I-en-xent offering wine. Above him is the inscription y 111 1 T
^ !r^ v^ rer/) sehu stiier hen ka
mef en hest amaxu x^^ neb-f. " The president of the council
chamber, the sfner, the ka priest, the devoted to his
lord." Next comes his son the ka priest, whose name ends in
^^, holding ly in each hand, and behind him comes his wife
Ama [1 ^\ [1 , offering AA and his two daughters, Hest-f-set
* Rapport, p. 35.
t The character wanting here must be 0. .See Mariette, Cat. Mon. (fAbydos,
p. 89, where the lady Nebet has the same titles.
20
Nov, i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[18S7.
, and Inside the tomb, on the right hand
side of the door, the wall has been smoothed for a distance of
fourteen feet, and upon this are depicted scenes in the life of the
deceased Mechu. In the first we see three nien each called
I-en-Chenta pouring out libations before Mechu, who appears to
lean heavily on a stick ; as one leg is slightly bent and the knee
enlarged, it is probable that he was a lame man. In the second
scene Mechu is seen cutting up an animal for sacrifice, and further
on he is shown reaping corn and ploughing with yokes of oxen.
There are here some spirited representations of the long-eared
Egyptian donkey. Between the second pair of pillars from the
doorway, resting on three uprights, is a flat stone slab, which
served as a table on which to place the sepulchral offerings of the
dead. Exactly opposite this table is a raised platform approached
by steps. On the wall a false door has been cut, and round
about it is inscribed the following : —
i\S\[^^ T
%^
OAO
_J)'
PS^
-S
1^
Deceased seated, and table of
offerings of ' thousands of oxen,
ducks, rams, loaves of bread, pots
of wine, linen bandages,' etc., etc.,
etc.
^^
O
Uill
D ^
^^'
,^Pf-;t «l^^
The inscriptions read, " May Anubis upon his hill and in the
city of Ut, the lord of Ta-ser, grant a royal oblation and sepulchral
meals to the prince, the inspector Mechu. May Osiris at the head
of Abtu (Abydos) grant a royal oblation and sepulchral meals to
the veritable prince Mechu. The prince, the inspector devoted to
Horus, Mechu, The prince, the inspector, the extraordinary smer^
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1887.
the ministrant, Mechu. Mechu, prince, inspector, extraordinary
SJner, the devoted to the great god the lord of heaven." On several
of the pillars of this tomb spaces have been smoothed, and various
sepulchral scenes are depicted thereon. On the first pillar on the right-
hand side of the door is a figure of the deceased Mechu, and his
son, also called Mechu, and his wife I Jl (Sent), offering AA .
On the pillar next this is a figure of a man partly obliterated.
On the last pillar of the second row from the door on the right-hand
side is a man pouring out a libation, and above him is inscribed
Y \ m "^^^ H -^ ^^^ P ^ I ^ " ^^* (?)— Nefera, the ka
priest, performing the behests of his lord." By his side is his son,
called I T 1 '^^^^^ Sabben. On the last pillar of the third row
from the door is a boy called Sabben, offering AA , and above
him is inscribed ^^¥^^-f|- PPf'^V'^^^- ^^^^"^
him are three males offering two ducks, and A. On the second
pillar of the second row, on the left, are the figures of a man and his
wife and his two daughters. The inscription over the man is —
^
^
U
■\-\
The wife is called Emteta |^ ^^ [j, the first daughter ^^ ^ \
Erunta, and the second fljfl J Abab. The daughters wear long
white garments, attached to the neck by a collar. There are one or
two other sepulchral scenes inscribed on different parts of the walls,
but the examples given above will serve to indicate what they are
like. On the wall at the back of the tombs are several smaller false
doors, uninscribed, and made at a period subsequent to the hewing
Nov. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
out of the tomb ; there are also three small passages, which, so far
as I know, have never been excavated. This brings the description
of the double tomb (Nos. 25 and 26) to a close.
On leaving this tomb we ascend a little, and, keeping to the
left, we find several dDors of tombs, but mostly without inscriptions,
and calling for no special notice. There is among these, however,
one which was made for a man called Heq-ab, and which is
remarkable for its shape. A rectangular opening enables the
explorer to enter into a low chamber about eight feet by four by
three feet. Each wall has been covered with a thin layer of
plaster, and upon this has been painted pictures of the deceased,
wnth his wife and attendants. Many of the scenes and inscriptions
are entirely defaced, but a few remain. On the left hand wall are
three lines of inscription which read : —
amax heq-ab mes en Apt t'et nuk se
The devoted Heq-ab son of Apt, saying, " / am a person
nemxet
^pursuivant '
men en
be/oved of
A
heq-f hes-f em
king his, obedient to him in tJie
^ W I
^ I
xert ent hru neb t'et nefert nem mert
course of day every, speaking fair, reciprocating love,
-n k ^ j^ !
sui
void
em t'et ban hesi en nutar-nu-f
of speaking evil, doing the behests of local deity his.
men
beloved
en
of
sept (?)-f amaxi Heq-ab.
no;ne his, the devoted Jfeq-db."
In the floor of the chamber a deep rectangular opening has been
made, and from this a narrow passage runs leading to the coffin
chamber. In this passage a small stone seated figure of the deceased,
23
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1S87.
of exquisite workmanship, was found ; it is now in the possession
of Sir Edward Malet. Outside the tomb, over the entrance, are four
lines of inscription, which read : —
suten hetep ta Uasar x'^'"''^ Amenta neb
Royal oblation give Osiris at the head of Amenta, lord of
M
C:^
cn
Abtu em uaset- f neb ta - f per xeru
Abydos in places his all, may give he sepulchral meals.
ah apt ta em Uaqait em
oxen, ducks, cakes, at the Uaqait festival, at the
mesit em heb neb er em Tehuti
Mesit festival, at festival every, at the Thoth festival,
f. O t "^-^ '^^. ^ U
J^!^ I 0 <:z:=> THDEir 1 I
em hru neb nefer en un hra§ en ka
on day every good of opening the face of the ka
en neb amax x'^'' nutaru nebu Abtu
of the lord of fidelity before the gods, the lords of Abydos,
amaxi heq-ab se Pen-ateb a
the devoted Heq-ab, son of Pen-ateb-a (?)
* This festival took place on the 17th and iSth of the month of Thoth.
t See Brugsch, Kalendarisclie Inschrijten, p. 243.
X This festival took place on the igih of Thoth. See Brugsch, Kalcndarische
Inschrijten, p. 238,
§ i.e., the manifestation of the lia of Heq-ab.
24
ProcaadjncjS Soc- BiJbh Arrh jVcti '" '8P"
^=^
Nov. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
^
o
On the right hand side of the doorway are two hnes of inscription
which run, " May Anubis upon his hill, the lord of Ut give a royal
oblation, may he give sepulchral meals of oxen, ducks, and all
good things to the ka of the devoted Heq-ab, son of Apet."
On the left hand side of the doorway are also
two lines of hieroglyphics, which I reproduce
here, but am unable to translate wholly.
The next most interesting and important of
the Aswan tombs is No. 31, or that of Nub-
kau-Ra-Next, a plan of which is shown on
Plate II. The entrance to this tomb is cut in
the solid rock, which has been smoothed, and
slants back a few degrees to form the front.
Having passed through a short passage of
twelve feet, a spacious chamber with two rows
of massive square hewn pillars, which taper
slightly towards the roof, is reached. The walls
of this chamber have been smoothed carefully,
and are without any inscription or painted
plaster lining whatsoever. At the end of this
chamber is a slightly vaulted passage about
twenty-two feet long, which is approached by an
ascent of six steps. The end of the passage
opening out of the large chamber was originally
hermetically closed by blocks of stone. In each
side of the passage, at about equal distances
from each other, are three rectangular niches in each of which stands
a bearded mummied figure of Osiris. They are all plain and unin-
scribed save the first on the left hand side as we enter the passage,
and some of them have been mutilated. The inscription on the
i^
^
ZI
figure reads
mm
erpa ha net smer uata vier tiutar
kenu en x'^^''^'^ l'^^ i^^ Se-renput matxeru, " The chief, the prince,
the inspector, the extraordinary snier, the president of the prophets of
Chnem, the superintendent of the frontier (?) Se-renput, triumphant !"
Se-renput appears to have taken the tomb originally made for Nub-
kau-Ra-next, and made it the burial place for himself; the solid
Osiris figures which stand in the niches were no doubt intended to
have been inscribed with the names of the various members of his
25
Nov. i]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY.
[1SS7.
iamily when they were buried there. In one of these niches there
still remains a blank stele, placed there in readiness for inscribing
the names and titles of the person to be buried there. On the left
hand side of the inscribed figure is a painted funereal scene.
Se-renput wearing a collar of rows of various coloured beads and
bracelets, stands dressed in a tunic terminating in points above the
knees ; he holds a sceptre and Yj ^^^ ^^ the four lines of inscription
above his head it is said :—
D
S}
^ flf
J]
n
erpa ha net
Chiefs prince, inspector,
smer uata mer
smer extraordinary, president of
henu en Chnemu neb
/\ ij AAAAAA t\^\^
({{
Qebh
t/ie prophets of Chnemu, lord of Elephantine
Se-renput
Se-renput,
J\
D
O
t et i - na er ta pen emxet ur en
saying, Come have I to land this after old age to the
\l:\\\
vA
cm:
atf amu nutar-^ert ari-na set en nutar-a
fathers who are in Nutar-yert, dofie have I of god my,
J\ 1
sper-na ar
coine forth have I to
uau X^^'f ^^
falsehood before him, fiot
O
xer
ka-f an ari
ka his, not made \_have /]
Before him is a line of hieroglyphics which reads ^^
Jtl'
^^
.^
26
re.-'Jxngs SiyoSib-
h\ '. ^-^
^"mMm':k ^.^'i;-^:y^:m^?mwm^m^m'i!srmiMm
From a. droMixig lyEemy Walhs Esc^'"
n&URE OF SE-RENPUT CARVED ON PILLAP. Z¥ THF '-r. - ct-av .-: ;•_'-.■ n-rrrp .-r.np
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1S87.
^^ t'et bcina ha Se-renput inat^(erii neb ama^ art en Sati-
hetep 7ndt-xeru nebt cunax- Says he, " the prince Se-renput,
triumphant, lord of devotion, son of Sati-hetep, triumphant, lady of
devotion." Behind Se-renput is his son An^u and the inscription
" His son loving to perform his behests in the course of every day,
the prince Anchu, triumphant."
At the end of this passage is a smaller square chamber containing
four square pillars. On one side of each of these is a standing
figure of Se-renput wearing tunic, necklace or collar, and white
sandals with straps tied over the ankles. Each pillar is ornamented
with stripes of red, green, yellow, and white colours, and has been
inscribed with the name and titles of the deceased. The titles are
the same on each pillar, but on one pair he is said to be the ' presi-
dent of the prophets of Chnem,' and on the other 'president of the
prophets of Sati.' *
At the end of this chamber a niche was hewn out of the rock, and
was lined with smooth flat slabs of stone plastered over and painted
with figures and inscriptions. The roof slab is ornamented with a
wave-pattern ^^^;$^, painted red upon a yellow ground. The
slab facing the entrance, which is well illuminated by the sun about
9 a.m., is painted with a representation of the man for whom the
tomb was made, Nub-kau-Ra-next. The two lines of hieroglyphics
above begin in the middle of the slab, and read : —
27
Nov. i]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
' qf^^6i5?TJI^
[1887.
XJ
°f^uij J o
I. Nub-kau-Ra-next, the devoted to Sati, the lady of Elephantine
and to the goddess Euxebit.
II. Nub-kau-Ra-next, the devoted to Chnem the lord of Qebh, *
by Elephantine.
Before the deceased is a table of offerings, by which stands Anxu,
" the son of his body delighting to perform his behests in the course
of every day." f On the right-hand slab is painted a table of
offerings, and " his mother, loving him, the priestess of Athor, Sati-
hetep, triumphant, the lady of devotion, the daughter of Tenset." J
Behind her stand Se-renput and his wife and son. The six short
lines of inscription close by him repeat his titles, and add that he
was the ' overseer of the works.' On the left-hand side is painted
another figure of Se-renput and the following inscription : —
\ r <2>-
..J)
T
^{\l
a
'iiiiiiiii V^
^ Q III
l\/'^
1!
^
A/VVV\A
Z]
P^jrp?
* Qebh was the sacred name of the first nome of Upper Egypt, called usually
Ahi or Elephantine. Brugsch, Diet. Gicg., p. 824.
t
O
f
0
*^°
I
l\N\/\N\ J_J
%
I ^
28
() ^ ^ D
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
" May Seb, and Anubis in Ut, and Osiris at the head of Amenta,
give a royal oblation and a happy burial to the ka of the chief, the
prince, the inspector, the extraordinary smer, the prince filling the
heart of the king (i.e., doing the king's will) as captain of the
skirmishers (?) of the door of the opening of the southern lands, the
prince, the president of the prophets of Sati the lady of Elephantine,
the general of the soldiers, Se-renput, triumphant, lord of devotion."
From this inscription we learn that Se-renput not only held the
ordinary olifices of a ruler of Elephantine, but that he was in addition
the officer commanding the whole military force stationed there m
general, and of the i^ I pe^ert in particular. The word
pex^ft means "runners," and it is clear that some swiftly-moving
and lightly armed body of soldiers, useful for attacking the enemy in
an irregular way, is intended to be understood by this word. By
' the door of the opening of the lands of the south,' the first cataract
is meant. On the other side of the inscription are figures of the son
of the deceased and "his beloved wife, the prophet of Athor,
Chnemuaatnet, f^ v\ a , triumphant, lady of devotion."
As we enter the chamber in which this beautifully painted niche
or shrine is situated, we find on the right-hand side a large tunnel or
passage, rough-hewn out of the solid rock — and one afternoon a
small party of us went to explore this passage, and to find out where
it led. Having provided ourselves with lights and ropes, we entered
the passage, and found that it bent round to the left, and went down
with a rapid descent as well. After a few minutes our way was
stopped by a square pit, about fifteen feet deep, into which, having
fastened a rope to one of the pillars at the entrance of the passage,
we descended, accompanied by showers of small stones and dust.
When the latter had subsided we found that, apparently, the pit led
nowhere, but closer examination showed that one side of the pit was
made of sun-dried mud bricks, evenly and regularly laid. With a
little trouble some of these were removed, and we were able to
scramble through into what afterwards proved to be a second pit.
Here again we found a brick wall, which we proceeded to go
through, whereupon we found ourselves a third time in a square pit
like the other two, but without any mud brick wall. By this time we
found the air very hot and oppressive, and it was so bad that the
candles burnt very dimly. After some searching we found in one
29
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1S87.
corner of the pit a hollow about two feet deep, which led to a very
narrow passage about two feet wide by eighteen inches high. We
dragged ourselves through this passage one by one, and found that
on the other side there was a fourth square pit or shaft, the sides of
which had been carefully smoothed. I'his shaft was filled nearly to
the top with small stones, and was, I believe, the resting-place of the
sarcophagus of Nub-kau-Ra-next and Se-renput. I noted and
measured carefully the direction in which the curved passage and
the series of three pits or shafts led, and I made out that the fourth
shaft, nearly filled with stones, was exactly under the painted shrine
described above. To have emptied this shaft would have taken
some time, for only a very few men could work there at once, and
as I had to leave Aswan in a few days, I was obliged to give up all
thoughts of doing it. The tomb has clearly been ransacked in
ancient days, but something might have been found which would
have given us a little more information about the lords of
Elephantine who were buried in it. Architecturally and artistically
this tomb is the best of those excavated by Sir F. Grenfell, and from
every point of view is of great interest. Much of the ornamentation
is due to the care of the friends of Se-renput ; but, unfortunately,
there is no means of saying what relationship he bore to Nub-Kau-
Ra-nex't, who was an officer under Amen-em-hat II, the third king
of the Xllth Dynasty; it is probable that he was a son.
The tombs that have just been described were opened out and
excavated in the winter of 1885-6 ; I shall now proceed to speak of
those which were opened in the winter of 1886-7. After having
cleared away the sand from the stone staircase in front of the tomb of
Sabben, we dug in several of the tombs in the upper layer, but found
nothing except fragments of pottery and remains of badly made
mummies. In some of them there had been painted shrines, but
these had been smashed to pieces, and only the parts formed by the
solid rock remained ; in others the walls had been whitewashed.
Away round to the north side of the hill there was an opening of a
tomb which appeared to be worth a complete clearing out. The
whole of the doorway with the exception of a space of two feet, was
blocked up with sand, and on each side it was piled uj) to the height
of some yards. The inscription over the doorway showed that the
tomb was made in the time of the Xllth Dynasty, and for a man of
great importance; it was therefore decided that we should devote
30
.IS Soc.BiblA-ch, NovV188l-
c
CO
p
a
2;
pi
Q
W
^
M
<
fi^
3
o
<
^
Oj
s
■^
o
i
-^'1
fH
q
Ch
o
o
'-i
W
w
o
■X.
<^
—
Cn
^^
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1S87.
nearly all our forces to the excavation of this promising tomb *
Having removed the sand from the sides and door of this tomb
No. 32, we found that the surface of the rock was inscribed with scenes
and inscriptions for several yards to the right and to the left. The rock
slopes at an angle of 30°, and at a distance of six feet from the top of the
smoothed rock there runs a hollow ledge along the whole length of
the face of the tomb. The door is not situated in the middle of the
smoothed part of the rock, the space to the left of it being longer by
some feet than that on the right. The rock here and elsewhere in
the hill is seamed with layers of soft friable stone, which, through the
action of water, has crumbled away and caused much destruction to
parts of the tombs. On each side of the doorway are large cracks,
which have been filled up and repaired with small stones laid in
plaster; and at right angles to the rock are small pylon-shaped
openings or alcoves. On the left hand side of the door are inscribed
two rows of cattle, and figures of the deceased represented spearing
fish and driving cattle along. In front of him are two horizontal
lines of hieroglyphics which read, i\
0
^PffiH^-r^f
T) " The spearing of fish and the catching of birds by
the chief, the prince, the inspector, the extraordinary s^/ie/-, the
prophet, Se-renput, son of Set-Tena, the Lady of devotion." Facing
the cattle stands the deceased, and in front of him are two lines of
inscription which read — ^ ^v^V '"^^^ ^^ ' ^ 7t I ''^^^ "Sf^ -
* The excavations were made by Egj'ptian soldiers under the direction of
Major G. T. Plunkett, R.E., who told off, whenever possible, two or three cor-
porals from the nth Company of Royal Engineers to superintend the work.
When Major Plunkett was ordered to Malta, Major Hare, R.E., undertook the
direction in his place. To carry away the sand Colonel Leach, R.E., kindly
placed at our disposal several lengths of a small line of railway and a few trucks.
It would have been impossible to have done as much work as was done without
the steady help of General the Hon. R. H. de Montmorency, Colonel Sandwith,
Colonel Chermside, Majors Bagnold, Hepper, Hare and Plunkett, Captains
Hales and Handcock, and Lieuts. Stuart, Leahy, Sparks and Cecil King. I am
personally greatly indebted to these and many other officers, and I take this
opportunity of publicly thanking them, and also the men belonging to the nth
Company of Royal Engineers who were stationed at Aswan during the winter
of 18S6-7, for their help.
31
Nov. i]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY.
[1S87.
±^
J\
r^.^^^
D
i\irM\
D I
I
c. I
fl
" A view of the bulls, and oxen, and calves, which the chief, the
prince, the prophet of Chnemu, Se-renput, triumphant, sacrificed for
carrying out the festival of all the gods the lords of Elephantine."
The drawings from which the reproductions which accompany this
paper were made, are by Henry Wallis, Esq., and represent with
great exactness the scenes on the face of the tomb. Facing to the
rio-ht is another figure of the deceased and two lines of inscription
recording his titles and dignities,* from which we learn that he was
also " supreme governor of Ethiopia, ^ Q r^^vj, and presi-
dent of the countries of the south."
The space to the right hand side of the door is divided into two
parts. In the upper the deceased Se-renput is represented sitting on
a chair holding y. This scene is divided into two parts by three
lotus columns, and in each are two women facing to the right ; they
all hold lotus flowers, and wear head-dresses and necklaces, but have
no other clothing. The first lady is " his wife, the beloved of the
seat of his heart, the lady of the house. Set-ten ;f the second is "his
dear mother. Set-ten ;"J the third is "his dear daughter Sati-hetep ;"§
^i^^l'L , 1
-<-f^;
?
- - 111 k^ -A ^
\
D ^
III
O ll J\
^ ^
J
CT] -^ o s=>
32
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [18S7.
and the fourth is "his dear daughter Set-ten."* In the lower
division is a figure of the deceased and that of a man holding a
bow in one hand and an arrow in the other, followed by a fine
hunting dog. Behind him are the figures of his three sons, the first
of whom is described as " his eldest son, loving him the master of his
property, the ruler of his heritage, perfectly acquainted with every-
thing going on in his house, the prince Heq-ab, son of Set-ten." f
The phrase (I ^ a;,^ a^er ker pa-f, " perfect in the
knowledge of the matters of the house," is interesting, and the trust
imposed in the son by the father was exactly that with which
Potiphar trusted Joseph, and which is so well described in the words
rTOi«?2 in^ i^T 'iih^ rpr ti -h -^^^ 73 1^v^^ (Gen. xxxix,
6). The second son was called Heq-ab, but was distinguished from
the eldest son by the epithet ^<^ her-ab, "the middle;":}: and the third
son was called Heq-ab, and was distinguished from his two brothers
by the epithet ^^^^ ' serduj' the youngest. '§
The tomb of Se-renput must have been one of the earliest of the
XHth Dynasty tombs made at Aswan, and his family probably con-
tinued to rule there for a considerable period after his death. He was,
as we learn from an inscription painted in plaster inside his tomb, an
officer in the service of ( O ^ U I xeper-ka-Ra or Usertsen I, the
second king of Egypt of the XHth Dynasty. Whether he is the same Se-
renput who is shown making offerings in the tomb of Nub-kau-Ra-next
is not easy to say, but it is very probable ; especially as Nub-kau-Ra-
next lived in the time of Amenemhat, the third king of Egypt of
the XHth Dynasty. One of the daughters of Se-renput was called
Sati-hetep, and the mother of Nub-kau-Ra-next was also called Sati-
hetep, and these I think are one and the same person. The tomb
* "9 i^ ^^-~- lo
I
S;a^
AA/v^A^ _y_J /WwWv
lo^-
33
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILLOLOGV. [1SS7.
of Heq-db, wliich I have described above, is no doubt that of one of
the sons of Se-renput, probably of the eldest ; and I read the frag-
ments of an inscription in a wrecked tomb which showed that it had
been made for Set-ten, a daughter of Set-ten, without doubt the
second daughter of Se-renput. It is perfectly clear then that, so far
as we know now, Se-renput was the founder of a great family of
rulers of Elephantine during the Xllth Dynasty, and that the tombs
hewn there were made for himself and his successors. As he was
the governor of Ethiopia and the ' commandant ' of the garrison of
the important frontier town of Aswan, he must have been a man
of the greatest importance in the land of Egypt ; and however great
he was his tomb was worthy of him.
But to return to the description of his tomb. Over the door
of the tomb are nine lines of inscription, and on each side are
five. These inscriptions have been mutilated in several places
through the rending of the rock itself, and the natural decay of
the stone, which in places is very friable. I took 'squeezes' of
all these inscriptions, but owing to the spoiling of the paper by
the rain, they did not preserve the form of the characters, and
were quite useless. I hope to have a photograph of the nine lines
of inscription shortly, but meanwhile it will be sufficient to say-
that they contain a very full list of the titles of Se-renput, and his
offerings and gifts to the gods, and a statement to the effect that
when his majesty Usertsen I went to conquer Ethiopia, he was
the king's general-in-chief.* This expedition to Ethiopia took place
in the forty-third year of the reign of Usertsen I, and was that in
which Amen-em-hat-Ameni, at the head of four hundred men,
distinguished himself so signally.f Usertsen conquered the entire
country of Ethiopia as far as Wady-Halfa, and a stele found
there, which is now at Florence, gives the names of some of the
tribes conquered by him ; \ we may be certain that Se-renput
and his soldiers were not idle when his lord was marching south.
* In the first line of the inscription over the door we are told that Se-renput
was the son of the lady Set-na, "^^ ^>f '^^ Ij w| ; but in the scene
inscribed on the right hand side of the door his mother is called Set-ten. In
this case I think the g > has been omitted by the scribe.
t The grave of this officer is at Beni-hassan, and the text has been published
by Lepsius in the DenknuiUr, II, Bl. 121, 122.
I See ChampoUion, Notices, p. 692; and Birch, Aeg. Zeit., 1S74, pp.
Ill — 113-
34
Nov. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
The inscriptions on the right and left hand sides of the door
are as follows : —
(?)
Left Hand Side.
# ,e=^ /WVVAA
Right Hand Side.
G
j\
35
d 2
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY, [1887.
The hieroglyphics enclosed by lines a, b, c, have been carved at a
period subsequent to the building of the tomb, on stones which have
been inserted by way of repairing the breaks in the surface of the
rock ; it will be seen, however, that the sculptor has made some
mistake, and that the hieroglyphics which he cut do not suit the
context. In one case, c, two flat slabs of stone have been let in
edgewise, and the inscription has been forgotten altogether. When
we had dug down about three feet, we came across the remains of
square pillars, and further digging showed that there were seven of
them ; three to the right-hand of the door, and four to the left.
They were originally inscribed on all their four sides for about two-
thirds of their length, beginning at the top ; but the remains of these
inscriptions are so fragmentary that they are not worth reproducing
here. These pillars must have been about eighteen feet high when
complete, and must have supported a roof made of flat slabs of
stone, the ends of which rested on the pillars and in the ledge which
I have mentioned before, thus forming a sort of covered gallery.
The pillars are about two feet square, and are on an average about
five feet six inches from each other. Some three weeks' digging
enabled us to clear out all the sand from round about these pillars,
and we then found that they stood in an open court-yard, 48 ft.
6 in. by 41 ft. 4 in., entered by a doorway formed of blocks of
fine white hard stone, which must have been brought from the other
side of the river, from the hill near which the modern Fort Harfln
has been built. On the blocks of stone of this doorway figures of
the deceased Se-renput are cut, and one of these has been drawn
by Mr. Wallis, and is reproduced on Plate IV.
From the brow of the hill, through this doorway and across the
courtyard a line of railway was next laid, and the work of clearing
out the inner chambers of the tomb began. Day by day for some
weeks many tons of sand were drawn out, and after six weeks' work
the tomb was emptied. Passing through the door, we find on each
side a niche, in which statues of Se-renput probably stood ; and then
we come to a rectangular chamber having four square pillars, two
on each side of the door. Originally the whole wall surface was
covered with plaster, and upon it were painted scenes in the life ot
Se-renput ; this has, however, all disappeared with the exception of
one piece inscribed with a duplicate copy of the inscriptions found
on each side of the doorway outside the tomb. Fortunately, a
cartouche with the prenomen of Usertsen I, [ O ^ U I, has been
36
Proceeam^ SocBiblArch TVev'" 18&.
H
:3
p^
^;
pD
>H
fi^
^
^
<<,
rn
00
CO
<
tn
<
^
o
H
fi
CU
<
.— ,
:s
V
^
^^5 '■'9 ■^!!l«' 9 ^^^C ^
^^
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
spared by time and decay, and thus we know the exact period when
Se-renput Hved. Nothing was found in clearing this chamber except
a few small terra-cotta pots of the Roman period. From this
chamber we walk through a slightly vaulted passage about thirty-five
feet long, and find ourselves in a second rectangular chamber having
only two square pillars, and exactly opposite to the doorway is the
shrine or niche in which was probably a stone statue of Se-renput.
The top and walls are unpainted and perfectly plain, but on the
edges are the usual prayers that Anubis and Osiris will grant sepulchral
offerings to the dead man. To the left of this niche is the mummy-
pit in which Se-renput was buried, but this has long since been
rifled, and it is now filled to the top with broken bits of stone and
sand. I regret to say that we found absolutely nothing in the tomb
but sand, and a few small coarse earthenware jars, and the skeletons
of two or three people who had died and had been hidden in the
sand, like the Egyptian whom Moses slew. I need hardly say that
every one at Aswan was disappointed at the result.
While the digging out of this tomb was proceeding, we had
a few men digging at another place in the hill where we had found
traces of a second stone staircase. After some few weeks' digging
they reached the doorway of another tomb of the Vlth Dynasty,
made for a ' prince and extraordinary S7ner, and chief scribe of
the god Chnemu,' called '^ ^ Nexu, who lived in the time of
Pepi II, whose prenomen T O J U J is inscribed on the walls.
H.R.H. the Prince of Naples visited this tomb with a small party
the morning after it was opened, and expressed himself much
pleased with the freshness of the colours, which were painted on the
plaster about 5000 years ago. This tomb has now become generally
known as the Prince of Naples' tomb. The tomb was irregular in
shape, and was filled to within two feet of the roof with fragments
of pots and heaps of badly mummied bodies, whose skulls grinned
at the intruder from every corner, and whose bones cracked loudly
under the feet. This tomb like all the others had been rifled in
days of old, and the shrine broken in and smashed, though,
curiously enough, the paintings had been untouched. A figure of
the deceased Nexu, wearing a spotted leopard skin, is particularly
fine, and well worth a visit by any traveller intending to go to Aswan.
With the digging-out of this tomb our labours for this year came to
an end. The English soldiers were ordered to Cairo, and the plant
37
Nov. i] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1887.
belonging to the Xlth Company of Royal Engineers, which had
been so freely lent to us by Majors Hepper, Hare, and Plunkett, and
Captain Hales, had to be taken with them. A month or two after I
left Aswan, Colonel Holled Smith came there from Wady Halfah,
and continued Sir F. W. Grenfell's excavations. He commenced
digging in the second ledge of rock near tomb No. 31 and that
named after the Prince of Naples. Here he found a rock-hewn
rectangular tomb, the roof of which was supported by three pillars.
On each side of it, north and south, small chambers were found con-
taining remains of mummies ; on the west side was a chamber
actually containing mummies. Seeing indications of mummy pits
here, excavations were made, and twelve feet down a small passage
leading to a pit was found, which was found to contain about 200
uninscribed earthenware pots. Ten feet to the south a second pit
was found into which no sand had intruded, and which seemed to be
intact. Here, in the centre of the chamber, was a well made mummy
in a black painted but uninscribed case. On the top of the coffin
two boats, with oars and masts, and pilots at bow and stern, were
found in perfect 'order ; in one was a canopy under which was a
seated figure. I am glad to be able to say that one of these boats is
to be presented to the British Museum, and will arrive in England
shortly. At the head of the coffin was a square box which con-
tained the model of a granary. This contains several compartments
filled with grain, and over the door of each is an inscription ; on the
floor of the granary stands a man holding a basket. Some alabaster
jars and about 300 earthenware pots were also found. The three
pillars in the tomb are decorated with figures of the deceased wearing
a leopard skin, and all the walls of the tombs have inscriptions upon
them.
And now, it may be asked, "When were the Aswan tombs
broken into and robbed ; and by whom ? " and these questions are
not easy to answer. The tombs of Sabben and Mexu and Nexu
of the Vlth Dynasty were probably opened soon after the end
of the rule of this dynasty of Egyptian kings, in the troublous
interval between the Vlth and XHth Dynasties; and those of Nub-
kau-Ra-next and Se-renput, of the XHth Dynasty, may have been
broken into during the pt-'riod between the XHth and the XVHth
Dynasties ; but I do not think that the destruction wrought in these
tombs was by the hands of Egyptians. I am inclined to put down
the smashing of the statues and shrines of these tombs to the savage
38
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
Cambyses. The way in which he wrecked sarcophagi and mummies
is a matter of history, and is too well known to need repetition here ;
and since we have in the Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu, the
express statement that his soldiers ^DUi^ : \jl^ ' A?lT^ • "des-
troyed the town of Aswan,"* we may be sure that the tombs in
Contra Syene suffered in like manner. Great damage was also done
to Egyptian sepulchres by the crowd of fanatical recluses, anchorites,
and ascetics which took up their abode in them. The paintings and
representations of Egypt's gods they took for the likenesses of devils,
and they wantonly effaced and destroyed them. Nor were the
Copts innocent in this respect, for where they did not absolutely
destroy Egyptian remains, they carefully plastered over the scenes
and inscriptions, as any one may see to this day in one of Hat-
shepsu's buildings at Der el-Bahari. In the Revue Egyptologiqiie for
1882, p. 69, M. Revillout published a very interesting passage from
the Coptic life of Pisentios,t the Bishop of Coptos, relating how the
holy man took his son John to show him the place in the mountain
of Gemi, (ThJULI, near Hermonthis, where he lived. After they
had walked for three miles they came to a rectangular chamber cut
in the rock, the roof of which was supported by six pillars, where
they found a large number of mummies in coffins. Pisentios asked
his son how long these men had been dead, and John replied, " God
knows." Pisentios then advised his son to keep his soul with all
diligence, and reminded him that this world would pass away, and
that any moment might separate them : after which the young man
went to go out. As he was going out he saw a roll of parchment on
one of the pillars, which his father unrolled and read, and found
that it contained the names of those who had been mummified and
laid in this chamber ; after Pisentios had read it, he gave it back to
his son, who put it back in its place. But for one intelligent and
instructed recluse who respected the tombs of the dead, there would
be throughout the length of Egypt hundreds of fanatics who would
destroy statues, and burn mummies and papyri, with the idea that
they were doing a religious act. The hill of the tombs at Aswan
was made the seat of a Coptic monastery, and one or two of the
* Zotenberg, Chronique de Jean, Eveqiie de Nikiou, p. 51, 1. 26.
t The Coptic text of this life has recently been published by M. Amelineau
under the title, Etude stir le Christianisme en Egyple au Septieme siccle.
39
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY. [18S7.
tombs, which had been used and altered freely by the monks, have
smoke-effaced j^raffiti scrawled everywhere ; here and there too are
to be found imitations of Egyptian hieroglyphics such as are to be
seen engraved on Gnostic gems, clearly the work of the Roman
Period.
On the extreme summit of the hill is a mud-brick dome-shaped
erection, built in honour of some local magnate by the Muhammedan
population of Aswan. The inside has been white-washed, and upon
it is scrawled everywhere the declaration of the unity of God,
prayers for Prophet, and the names of pilgrims who have prayed
there. The building is called the ' house of the wind.'
In spite of all the vicissitudes of time and weather, and the
destruction ^\TOUght on Aswan by Persian, Greek, Roman, Arabic,
Turkish and Nubian invaders, the tombs are still wonderful, and
their inscriptions most interesting. The stone staircase is unique,
and the so-called proto-Doric pillars of the double tomb of Sabben
and Mechu, are, so far as I know, not to be met with elsewhere.
It is sincerely to be hoped that Sir F. W. Grenfell will continue
his excavations, for it is very probable that tombs earlier than the
Vlth Dynasty may be found there, and it seems very doubtful to
me if six dynasties of kings had nearly passed away before it was
found out what an excellent place the bold hill of Contra Syene
made for sepulture. It is meet too that the Sirdar, or first
soldier of the army of Egypt of to-day, should bring to light and
preserve the tombs of his predecessors, the old warrior princes of
Elephantine or Aswan who lived and ruled five thousand years ago.
In conclusion, I wish to express my obligations to Mr. Le Page
Renouf for his help in translating some difficult passages which
occur in the inscriptions.
40
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
The following Paper, by Dr. W. Pleyte, was read by the
Secretary.
ORACLE OF AMON.
Papyrus in the British Museum, No. 10335.
The small Papyrus I have undertaken to treat in the Proceedings
of our Society is written on both sides. The writing though of the
best period, of the XlXth Dynasty, is yet so carelessly executed,
that some of the signs defy a positive transcription ; many breaks
disturb the sense ; I give here a commentary on the whole,
although some names of things, and some titles of functionaries,
may be translated otherwise. The whole is clear enough, and places
us before the judgment of the god Amon about a theft made from
one of the dependencies of the temple. The text consists of eight
lines on the recto and eighteen on the verso.
An exact copy, or rather a photographic reproduction, would
enable my colleagues to correct my transcription of this curious
document ; the words not transcribed are not wanting in the original,
but I could not read them.
(
n " Hi n V T
renpit mah snau abot snau sa hiri-ua han
The second year, the second month of the season Sd, the first day, there u-as
^%.\t dMJ--
C3SZ1 iiL
as en sotem Amonemheb
an invocatio7i by the chief priest Amonefuheb
- q^^ K\ ^T:. k iJT
en Amon pa xo^^ti em heb
to Amon of the x'^^^^^ ^^ '^"■^ feast
"^^ Wm^ ^ '^^ ^/i fl w
ef nofre heb apet t'ot ef mai
the beautiful feast of Apet He says O
41
Nov. i]
1 AAAAAA
Amon
A If ion
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY.
[1887.
pa
0/ the
nofre mer
good beloved^
X%^
ta
the
xau
hall.
xonti
yonti
taua
/ deliver
ha-a
/ stay
^'
pai-a
my
Pa-men
Pamen
erxet
at
pa
neb
^
'^
^ w
xonti
yonti
r\/\AAA/\ ^^ III <■ ^
en nu-t-u her sauu
<?/ ///(? citizens in order to guard
sent setuu
magazine to care of
iu
tai-ef
its
ta-ief
its
I I I
saiu —
treasures,
pa
ail
he came
er a em meter
to me at the mid-day,
\h\.\
(^
/\
I I I
Jl
at'au
stolen
sext
is the booh of treasures
em-tat-a
from me
\\
pai-a
O my
neb, nofre mer, au ek ta-a
lord! good! beloved; will you render me
42
Nov. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
pai-u
these
^ a a
^ T
1
t'au
robbed things.
han pa nuter
Then the s^od
ra
han
bowed
^w x
4>
eruru sop-ui han Sotemu
very (deep) Then the Chief Priest
^m^
n
"^sy
Amonemhab
Amonemheb
4. f.^
nemuenef
began again,
nai-u
these
pa
temau
er-ter-u
are inhabitants of the city all
I 11 ^VWVA
han
Then
1
ra
nuter
god
han
boived
=0
er
to the
pa
the
pa
abuu
superi7itendent of the
5.
xnum
kitchen
Emnextamon
Enmextamon
er t'ot
ementuf er
He has
^
at'au
stolen
S
xnum
kitchen
I I 1
set
=0=
han
Theft
abuu pa
//z^ stiperifitendent of the
■^^"^
^
I
Emnextamon t'ot embah pa
Enmeyjamofi saith in the presence of the
43
Nov. i]
nuter
god.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.'EOLOGY.
X
at'ai
// is He
D
[1887.
anok er
that I have
at au
stolen
I I I
set
han
Then
[J]
A ^
bektu
cast down
pa
the
nemu
Another
1^ iri°^[\]
nuter het'ennu na
god was concerned,
sop
time
an abuu
tJie siiperintende7it
pa
of the
5
X'num
kitchen
r^^
Emnextamon
Emnextci»ion
T^^
sem
came
("=0)
embah
6.
jUXUli,
Amon
/f //^^ presefice of Amon
/ j /W^yvA \^ ^
uab-ua
'I pure
tua
/
au
I
\\ Tk
Semi
came
W
7^
ta
yw/;/ the
en
en
5U0©
seni
seni
pai-a
before my
er tot
saying
m 1
nuter
s:od
Pa - ki-au
Fakiau
at' - au - ef
he has stolen
ta
the things
44
pai - ef
his
/
Nov. I]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
uba
bower.
^^ rai^z;^
han
Then
pa
the
nuter
god
er-ef em
to him from
pa
his
s er t'ot
seat, saying,
han
inclined
ementuf er
he has
.\C. P
t'au
stolen
I I I
set
[1 ^v^Ayv^A
han
Then
=0=
abuu pa
the superintendejit of the
q:
xnum
kitche7i
han
Then
I
embah
Em - next - amen t'ot
Emneyjanien said
11 il q
X
^^
a t'ai
he is culpable.
^
\
pa
the
nuter
sod
t'ot
says .
ei j^
A
A/V\AAA
at'au su
He has stolen it
Amon
bu
AAAAAA O (S V— a (2
kennu - tu
in presence of Amon, he shall
embah
not be tortured in presence of
(=tD
?. A
metu
witnesses
\
4 ^
SU
this
atennu
the officer
kennu
jnany.
' ^^
Mena
{Pa)me?t.
45
Amu
77?^ //j-/ of names is
/^ww\ r^ J
ran-ef
W
pa
The
an
guard
Nov. i]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1887.
en ta ha - t Ra-user-ma mer-amon-step-en-ra
of the house of the king
pa
The
ubau
artist
Sesi Anion Sau
The servant Amonsau
Nebnofre
Nebnofre
en ta ha-t
of the palace.
Q
en ta hat
of the palace
Verso I.
Anion
Avion
ha - ef
He stays
pa
of the
Ikll
o T 7^ 1^ I
nemu sop ha eni-bah
a second time He stays before
xenti
xenti
y
em
on his
O "^
heb - ef
feast
nofre hau er mah xemt sop ....
the beautiful day for the third time
as
invokes
xenti
xenti
er t'ot
\\t \
saying
maia
O
r^"^^
pai - a
my
Anion
Amon
I.
neb
lord
nofre
sood
auf
pa
of the
nier
beloved
46
Nov. I]
TROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
q^i m\M -yp,?
anoh
/
D
at au
Aave stolen
hebesu han
the clothes. Then
pa
1
ra
nuter
sod
han
boived
o
W
er ur sopui
very (deep)
5-
er tot
saying
ementuf
he has
^
at'au
stolen
set
au - ef
He shall
I
W
^A/V^A'\
n
i<
e <
antuef ari - en - ef Sha
de brought for he shall be flagellated
embah nai - u
in presefice of the
temau
inhabitants.
- ^-tT fiP
au-ef
anx
He must take an oath to his majesty
1^ 5 \^ \m\
I
embah pa nutr er t'ot anok at'au
iti presence of the god, saying I have stolen
^
I I I
set
it
embah
before
^
nai - u rtuu
the veriflcators,
nai - u
the
sexu
scribes.
XX fj
pai
the
nemu
orator
47
Nov.
I]
SOCIE
AA^/^W
^
^^-
en
ubuu
of
the
hitendant
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCII/LOLOGV. [1887
I ^
pa-men en pa-ptah
Pamen of the temple of Ptah.
1^ k T^^ll ^ -\.\
I
I
I
au pa nuter em meti en nai - u
And the god administered justice to those
temau er t'ot ptar han
of the city saying, See, confessed has
pa rat er naiu behu - u
the man to the intendants
en Pharao t'ot set em tot a au a
of the Pharao saying, it is in my hand, I will
ta u am retuu pen ur en
render it to the verificator the great one of the
pa hertep en suten Ra-user-ma-step-en-ra
house of the chief of the King Rauseri?ia-step-en-ra.
- Ike \\
a-a-ri nemuenef auf-ta-en-ef en sexer
And this they let repeat him. And they delivered him to the chastisemefit
48
Nov. i]
J
ben
no^ the
PROCEEDINGS.
1
14.
pa
(rod
nuter
nemu
recommenced
ari-ef
let him
ra a
my 7nouth
er t'ot
repeat saying
au a
/ have
an ari ta ek(ef) en
again. And they made him to the
pa
[18S7.
aueferta
and they
pen a
converted
^£3
t'othu
prison
16.
em
by
(?)
naiu-ef
his
ser-u
'jnagicians
W
ari u
guards
-<2>-
17- W
nai-u-ef
and his
ari athuu-ef
and they made him bonnd
('=u)
II P
ti! k^r^
em bah pa nuter
in the presence of the god.
set em-tot-ef em met
TJie things in his Jiands as witness
m\Zl^ ^\ ^\ 1
m
of
ban
confession ;
au
a fid
pa
the
nuter
sod
rtu
made
^\.\^ 1=MJT^ VZ -iiP
sotemu
the chief priest
^:2^
W
Amonemhebi
Amonemliebi
er t'ot ben Setuu
saying not he lias kept
seneb
safe
t'au
the tJieft
49
em tot-ef
in his hand.
E
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1887.
Translation.
The second year, the first paophi, there was an invocation by
the chief priest Amonemheb to Amon of the x^^ti at his beautiful
feast of Apet.
He says, O Amon of the x^'iti, my good, beloved Lord ! I
deliver Pamen of the Hall. I stay at the xeriti of the citizens, in
order to guard its magazine, to take care of its treasures. He came
to me at mid-day. Stolen is the book of the treasures. O my good
beloved Lord ! wilt thou give back to me those stolen things.
Then the god bowed very deep.
Then the sotem began again. These are all inhabitants of the
city.
Then the god inclined to the superintendent of the kitchen,
Emnextamon, and said : He has stolen it.
Then the superintendent of the kitchen, Emnextamon, said in the
presence of the god. It is a lie that I have stolen it.
Then the god was concerned, cast down.
Another time came thesuperintendent of the kitchen, Emnextamon,
to the presence of Amon of the Seni, and said :
I am pure before my god, I came to Pakiau, he has the stolen
things (?) in his bower.
Then the god inclined to him from his seat and said : He has
stolen it.
Then the superintendent of the kitchen, Emnextamon, said :
He is culpable.
Then the god says : He has stolen it in the presence of Amon.
He shall not be tortured in the presence of so many witnesses.
This is the list of the names :
The officer Pamen, the Guard of the house of the King of Upper
and Lower Egypt ; Ra-user-ma Stepenra, the Artist, Nebnofre of the
palace ; the servant Amonsau of the palace.
He stays a second time.
He stays before Amon of the x^^^^i on his feast, the beautiful
day for the third time he invokes, saying :
O Amon of the x^^^^i, good Lord ! beloved ! Have I stole the
clothes ?
Then the god bowed very low, and said : He has stolen it ; he
shall be brought forward, and he shall l>e whipped in the presence
of the inhabitants : he must take an oath to his majesty in presence
50
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
of the god, saying : I have stolen it in presence of the witnesses of
truth, of the scribes, the orator of the intendant Pamen of the
temple of Ptah.
And the god administered justice to those of the city, saying,
see, the man has confessed to the intendants of the Pharaoh saying,
it is in my hand. I will render it to the verificator of the chief ot
the temple of Ptah of the house of the King Ra-user-ma-step-en-ra.
And this they made him repeat, and they delivered him over to the
chastisement.
The god did not recommence.
And they made him confess, saying :
I have converted again my mouth 1
And they had him conducted to the prison by the guards and
his magicians. And they bound him in the presence of the god.
The things were in his hand as witness of confession.
And the god made the chief priest Amonemheb safe, saying :
He has not kept the stolen goods in his hand.
Commentary.
Line i, recto. The reign of the king and the dynasty are not
noted in the manuscript, but we may conclude by the indication of
the house of Ramses the II, that the papyrus was written during the
reign of one of the kings of the XXth Dynasty, as the character of
writing agrees with that time.
In the second year of the reign of Ramses came a Sotem or a
highpriest of Memphis, according to Dr. Brugsch, named Amonemheb
to the god Anion, which Amonemheb seems to be the same as another
of the same name, whose statue yet exists in the museum at Turin.
This supposition may be supported by the texts on the back,
mentioned by Dr. Brugsch in his Dictionary of Geography, p. 1281.
The gods Sebak-Ra and Amon-ra-Sonter are named <^ ^ herab,
chiefs of ^^ ^^ (1 h ''^^^ 1^"^ • Amon of xenti occurs nowhere
else as far as I know, and thus the connection between the Turin
Amon-em-heb and that of the Papyrus becomes possible.
Amonemheb. The reading of the name is not certain, as the
endings of proper names are sometimes not to be recognized in the
text ; we must supply them by conjecture. The Turin statue confirms
my reading.
51 E 2
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [1887.
The x^"^^^ i^' according to the late M. Deveria, the harem of the
king, but in general it is an enclosure, a building, and has different
special significations in connection with its determinatives. It seems
here to be one of the dependencies of a temple of Amon, probably at
Memphis.
Amohpaxenti seems to be a local god as A7iiofitase?ii : Taseni is
another part of Memphis according to Dr. Brugsch. It might
be translated by Ajuotipaxenti or the Faxentian Amon and the
Tasenian Avion.
Amonemheb invoked the god at his beautiful feast, the feast of
Apet. This great feast was celebrated during the second month of
the year, Paophi; the month was named after the feast pa-api. Dr.
Brugsch cites a text of the time of Tiberius in his Thesaurus, p. 289.
A temple was restored at that feast, the beautiful day the second
Paophi, the great feast of rejoicing of the whole of the country. See
also Thesaurus, pp. 312, 315, 316, referring to another feast of Amon.
When Pian;)^i had celebrated the feast of the new year, he was
going to Thebes to see the god Amon at his beautiful feast in the
month Paophi ; he would have him carried round in procession to
the city of Apet, at his beautiful feast of Apet, a feast that Ra had
instituted for him.
Lines 2, 3. "He says, O Amon of thexenti, my good dear lord."
Mr. Le Page Renouf, with whom I had the honour to read this text
this summer, called my attention to two other texts published by Dr.
Brugsch in his Receuil, Part I, XXI and XXII. The texts contain
similar subjects, that is to say, oracles of Amon. The second is
dated in the reign of Pinot'em ; the god is invoked also at a beautiful
feast in Apet ; the high priest Ramenxeper invokes the god, saying,
paia neb no/re, my good lord. The hieratic signs in our text transcribed
by no/re seem to contain f?^ Jff ; if that is the case, the translation
w(nild be " beloved or dear chief,'" but the texts given in the Receuil
prove the correct reading to be 7iofre.
The two following lines present great difficulties, and I believe
that some words may be otherwise transcribed, but the end is not at
all difficult, and the following .sentences make it quite clear that the
oracle of Amon is invoked for a theft. The stolen objects are
clothes, and the sotem was instructed to place them in safety in a
magazine.
52
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [18S7.
The name Painen is not certain, the same sign occurs many
times in this text. I think it is the lying bull, but it might also be
"^s? Ur or ^^. her^ but Ur is always written in another manner in
our manuscripts, and her as a proper name is written hera ^^^^ 11 '^•
The x^ut is the hall, the palace we find it also with the
determinative (jQ .
Aft^r xenti comes a word in the plural ; I read it nu-t-u, citizens.
^*^^ V^ V^ '^ "" occurs twice in the text, but in both instances
the word is damaged in the same manner; but this reading is certain.
The transcription iiiefer is uncertain ; the word might also be
translated by another that signifies a compartment.
S^X is well written, but 7111, richness, may be the word
the list of revenues.
I
D (^ I I I
What part Pamen plays in the question is not clear. He seems
to be a high functionary verifying the statement of the theft.
Line 3. "Then the god bowed very low." Dr. Brugsch has
given to the words this sense in his history, when referring to the
oracle, Plate XXII of the Receuil. {Geschichfe Aegyptens, p. 645, &c.)
" Da stimmte der Gott dem gar sehr bei," then the god consented
thoroughly to it. I suppose that han is to nod, to bow, to incline his
head, or give a sign of agreement with arm or head. In what manner
the god expressed his consent is not indicated. In the oracle of
Pinot'em the god speaks nothing, but it is always said of the god that
he han er uriir.
Line 4. Abu is an inspector of the brewers or bakers, the
drinks and spices ; x'z^-^w is also a title of a domestic servant employed
in the Pharaonic kitchen.
The god indicates thus the kitchen master or superintendent as
the thief.
The form e7nentuf is treated by Dr. A. Erman {Grammatik, p.
T39, § 216 ss), and the titles dim and x'^^^''^ by hin"i '^rid Dr. Brugsch,
Efnnextafjiofi may also be read Emtotamon or Emtaamon.
Line 5. ft | ^ V "^i. Sh ^^ restored by conjecture :
at'ennu is an unknown word ; hef enmi is cited in the dictionary of
Dr. Brugsch.
53
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1887.
Taseni) Seni is tlie name of different places (see Brugsch,
Dictionary) ; also of a cjuarter of Memphis {Geogr. I, pp. 243-44).
Line 6. The form tua-uh is restored, and nearly illegible.
Pakiau is written A^ "^v kiz^ (| [j ^ 1] "vj^ ^ , but the
context demands a proper name, and then the characters may be
read /6K \^ v_^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ V ^ • ^ ^^''^^'^ '^^^ found this name
in other texts.
Line 7. The god inclines himself to him from his seat, or his
place ; the word seems to be 1 or I
The end of this sentence is very difficult to read, and other
readings than those I have given are possible. ^Ve should expect
that the god decreed that the thief was to be chastised, but the sense
begins with du, fwf.
Line 8. Am-ti-ranef is the list upon which are written the
names of certain persons. (See Brugsch Dictionary). The atomu
is named Men. I take this sign to be the lying bull.
The title ari may have many meanings, and the determination
of the meaning of nba is not clear.
Verso, line 8. The retii, the sexii, a.nd the nenut, the ur or
Famen, of the temple, are mentioned as personally present at the
i:)unishment, but these words are carelessly written, and my colleagues
will read them perhaps otherwise.
Linen. The initial of the line >j< or | gives me no title that I
can explain in the word i J | ^ or '^^J | ^ of the Pharaoh.
Line 12. This initial of the title is also not certain.
Line 13. Seyer may be read se^ct ; both words seem to signify
the place of punishment.
Line 14. The word translated by, to repeat, is not quite clear
to me.
Line 15. Ari-ta-ek is unintelligible in this sense, therefore I
have changed ek into ef. Tothu is restored. The following titles,
ari-u and ser-ii are connected with a group, kri-ef, but kri is not
certain; it seems to signify "to be in connection with;" then the
translation would be, " with his guards and the sorcerers belonging
to him."
54
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
If my translation is accepted, I believe that we have in this judg-
ment of the oracle on a theft a precious relic of the ancient Egyptian
administration of justice, a mixture of theology and jurisprudence,
but the oracle of the god, and of this there is no doubt, is very
singular. Other explanations and translations will no doubt- be
offered of this document, and my only object in now publishing it
is to call forth the opinions of others.
The following Letter was read by the Secretary : —
MON CHER AMI,
Je vois que dans la prochaine seance de notre socictc on doit lire
un travail de mon vieil ami Pleyte " sur un papyrus du British
Museum se rapportant a un oracle egyptien." J'ai moi-meme re-
cueilli un assez grand nombre de notes sur un sujet semblable.
Mais, en attendant que j'aie le temps de rediger un meraoire plus
complet, je crois devoir vous signaler quelques documents qui ont,
ces temps derniers, attire vivement mon attention : je veux parler des
inscriptions demotiques de Nubie.
Dans ces inscriptions il est tres frequemment question des oracles
d'Isis de Phile'e et de Thot de Pnebes (a Dakke) qu'on consultait sans
cesse a I'epoque romaine, et pendant tout le temps de cet empire
hlcmmye auquel j'ai deja consacre et auquel je vais consacrer encore
plusieurs articles de ma Revue Egyptologique.
Dans le dernier No. (i — 11 de la 5® annee), p. 75, je citais les deux
inscriptions bilingues (demotiques et grecques) d'Harpaesis venu du
fond de I'Ethiopie consulter Foracle d'Isis de Philee pour une femme
qui I'avait charge de ce pieux pelerinage. II disait dans I'une :
" Harpaesis, fils d'Ammonius, a parle pour la femme ..... et le
chef du sanctuaire a fait interroger le dieu au nom eternel en I'an
8 de Severe et Antonin "
Dans Tautre :
" Harpaesis, fils d'Ammonius, a parle pour la femme et
le chef du sanctuaire a fait interroger le nom des dieux du sanctuaire
en I'an 8 de Severe et Antonin."
Or ici le mot ]i)^A " interroger " ne laisse aucun doute. C'est
celui que les papyrus demotiques gnostiques, ou plutot magiques,
emploient continuelleraent quand il s'agit des interrogations ma-
55
Nov. i] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1887.
gique.s : "tu feras telle ou telle chose et tu interrogeras* le dieu sur
tout ce que tu desires, etc." Souvent les formules de ces interroga-
tions sont donnees par demande et reponse, ou bien Ton indique les
moyens speciaux pour interroger les divinites mfiles ou femelles, les
demons, les esprits des morts, etc., et c'est ordinairement ) -i. ] J— y) , qui
signifie interroger. Les magiciens ne faisaient en cela qu'imiter dans
leurs cabinets de consultation libres les oracles officiels des temples, t
parmi lesquels un des plus cel^bres etait certainement I'oracle d'Isis
de Phil^e et d'Osiris de I'abaton " le dieu a nom dternel."
Je ne puis enumerer toutes les consultations de I'oracle d'Isis de
Philee qui, constat6es par des inscriptions, ont €t6 relev^es par moi.
I.e temps me manque maintenant pour ce travail. Je me bornerai
seulement a en mentionner une que je n'ai pas encore signalee dans
mes travaux d^ja parus, et qui pr^sente historiquement un certain
interet : c'est I'inscription 120 de Lepsius ainsi con^ue :
" L'an 23 du roi Pseru (?) Ksnenfi ) f iT^ <, *) on a interroge le
grand oracle d'Isis."
Ainsi que je I'etablirai bientot, ce Pseru Ksnenfi, par le regne
duquel au date dans la ville romaine de Philee, est un des rois
Blemmyes qui joignirent a leurs etats la Thebaide, comme ce roi de
Thebes (rex thebceorum) qui fit cadeau d'une si belle statue de
basalte au pretendant imperial Pescennius Niger dont il etait I'allie',
comme ce Psentfes roi d'Ethiopie, dont Letronne a public I'inscription
grecque, et comme, empereur (autocrator Cesar Auguste) Psilaan
dont les legendes hieroglyphiques suivaient a Edfou celles de I'em-
pereur De'cius. Au reste ceux que cette histoire si curieuse de
I'empire Blemmye interesse n'auront qu'a lire le No. Ill de la 5"
annee de ma Revue Egyptologique, qui va paraitre sous peu. Re-
venons en done a nos oracles ethiopiens.
A cote de I'oracle de Philee, un des plus veneres des Blemmyes
ou Ethiopiens etait certainement celui de Pselcis ou Dakke, dont il
est question dans I'inscription suivante, qui se trouve h, Dakke meme
et que je n'ai pas encore publiee :
* Le mot 3)^ = otio sert aiissi de synonyme : Voir Pocnie satyriqite, p. 237
et suiv.
t C'est pour cela qu'ils repondaient sur les maladies, aussi bien que sur les
desirs, plus ou moins passionnels, de leurs clients. On sait que les temples faisaient
de meme et que le .Serapeum, par exemple, etait celebre par les consultations
medicales du dieu, rcpondant au malade soit dans I'etat de veille soit dans I'etat de
sommeil,
56
Nov. I] TROCEEDINGS. [1887.
" Le grand fils Siaritu, chef de panegyric de cette grande niajeste,
Thot de Pnebes, le dieu grand, et des dieux de la ville de Dakke a
fait fete (herut) etant dans le sanctuaire nomme."
" Nous avons fait accomplir les services du bo en lo* de ce grand
dieu, avec Senpet, le grand pretre, mon frere, en lui (dans ce sanc-
tuaire). Nous avons parlc an dieu, interrogeant ce grand dieu sur la tete
* bo en lo etait le nom Blemmye de la grande paneg)'rie de Thot, comme
linat'ep etait le nom Blemmye de la grande panegyrie de la deesse Isis, que Ton
transportait chaque annee en Ethiopie. En egj'ptien on disait alors : " faire j(?;-//^'
Isis," tipeire 3'i_ /d)»» <£. nese : C'est justement au sujet de cette sortie d'Isis
qu'on avait soin de consulter d'avance les differents oracles, pour qu'elle se fit
dans de bonnes conditions. Malgre toutes ces precautions, des accidents arrivaient
quelquefois en route, comme nous le prouve I'inscription de Xemi. Ce Xemi
etait arbatenkeri d'Isis ou aprocrysiaire de I'eglise Blemmye a Philee, speciale-
ment charge de diriger chaque annee le linatep ou voyage sacre d'Isis en Ethiopie,
du temps de I'empereur chretien Arcadius (ainsi qu'on le veut par la mention du
prefet augustal Archelaiis). Voici le texte en question, deja cite par moi, avec
d'autres de meme periode, dans ma Revtie Egyptologiqtie :
" Adoration de Xemi, Arbatenkeri d'Isis, la grande, — devant Isis de Philee
dans I'abaton, la deesse grande, venerable et bonne. — Bonne libation annuelle et
pains de propitiation des Ethiopiens de Napata et de la terre de Tateri.
" J'ai fait dix ans d'Arbatenkeri : j'ai aime le temple d'Isis, etant lie a lui d'un
grand lien d'amour, sans jamais briser ce lien. Quand je fus devenu vieux, casse,
mais agissant encore, pendant ces dix ans, par un service juste et parfait, le fils du
Kemi de Coptos du lac, I'ennemi puissant, Persee, chef de I'Abaton du mont
de verite d'Elephantine, vint en haut vers moi, qui etais sans preparatifs pour
les recevoir, il vint, dis-je, sans fatigue, au lieu oil etait le navire. II fit emporter
par ses gens la statue (d'Isis) a Syene, loin de 1^. II empecha par la de faire
le droit d'Isis. II ouvrit le temple de la mere (divine) d'Elephantine en disant :
" Ne venez pas a I'Abaton de Philee." Je passai I'annee entiere a Philee sans
qu'il rendit le chemin libre pour aller au sud. Je passai I'annee entiere. Voici
que je payai I'huile pour I'eclairage d'Isis etcinq talents a ceux qui chantent
les hymnes et pour les largesses de la fete — etant venu moi-meme adorer a
I'Abaton, etant toujours sur le dromos de Philee et a I'exterieur du bourg.
L'augustal Archelaiis vint ici. J'allai a lui, a Syene, pour la statue sublime
(d'Isis). II m'accorda (ma demande), en sorte qu'il fit faire le droit du monde
sur le temple. Je fis apporter de I'huile il pure pour une grande onction et
pour une libation a Isis.
"Je m'occupe de la faire voyager (la deesse). Je suis dedans, dehors, pour
le linat'ep (voyage sacre) d'Isis pour mon Ethiopie. Je prie a savoir : tu me
donneras le chemin pour amener aujourd'hui celle-ci (la statue). Que je m'occupe
de la faire reposer. Que je m'en aille encore et que tu m'accordes de chanter
avec joie, devant le grand frere Pachnumis, dans la chapelle du midi ! Amene-moi
a I'interieur ! Conseille au chef de I'Ethiopie le bien en paix ! Son nom affermis-
e a jamais ! "
57
Nov. I] SOCIETY 01' BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOCY. [1SS7.
de 500 victimes, dans la gratide fete d'uka, le 21 athyr, pour faire sortir
(3)'2i^ /d)u-ii— ) J^sis : et le grand dieu nous donna reponse pour que
nousfassions bien toute chose.
" Thot de Pnebes, le maitre du temple, me protegea. Moi Siaritu,
en qualite de grand pretre, j'allai a Philee pour accomi)lir la divine
panegyric et nous donnames tant de talents en choiak, a Isis. Mes
freres firent fete (Jieriit) : nous fimes aussi cela devant la dame, devant
Isis, la grande deesse, sur son dromos — au nom du roi de nos
ethiopiens. Ce que le roi de mon Ethiopie avait fait apporter
jusqu'au temple de Philee, moi, Siaritu, comme chef de panegyrie, je
le donnai dans la place nommee, ecrivant ces choses en langage
(egyptien) de Syene et en langue du Hitit '^ h)'vr\'C) 13 • On a ainsi
accompli les rites prescrits par Mentu, le Kerni d'Isis, I'agent d'Isis,
le prince de Xes, mon ami. Apres ces choses, moi, Siaritu, chef de
pane'gyrie, je suis revenu en cette place de nouveau, pour t'adorer,
dieu grand, etc."
En re'sume, Mentu, dont nous avons deja public d'autres inscrip-
tions et qui etait I'un des deux ministres du roi des Blemmyes lors
de I'empereur Severe Alexandre, avait confie a son "ami" le prince
et pretre Siaritu, egalement bien connu de nous, la direction des
fetes ^ accomplir, au nom du roi d'Ethiopie, tant dans le sanctuaire
de Thot de Dakke que dans celui d'Isis de Philee. Siaritu presida
done d'abord, comme chef de panegyrie, \ la solennite du bo en lo,
grande fete de Thot. Ce fut a cette occasion qu'il consulta I'oracle
sur la sortie d'Isis de Philee, le voyage annuel {Imat'ep) de sa barque
sacree jusqu'en Ethiopie, voyage annuel dont nous parlent sans cesse
nos inscriptions demotiques, et qui avait ete deja decrit egalement
par Priscus, par une inscription grecque de Letronne, etc. Thot,
ainsi interroge sur 500 victimes, donna une reponse favorable.
Siaritu s'appreta done aussitot "k accomplir la seconde partie de sa
mission et il partit pour Philee avec son cortege. La il offrit a la
deesse les presents du roi d'Ethiopie, comme le firent tant d'autres
de ses devanciers et de .ses successeurs, particuli^rement les ministres
du roi Terermen contemporain de The'odose et d'Arcadius dont nous
avons recemment traduit la si interessante inscription.* Mais, chose
digne de remanjue, au lieu de se contenter d'une stele, soit demo-
tique egyptienne, soit nubienne ou mero'itique, il fit faire de ces
* Voir le Nos. i-ii de la 5" annee de la Re'inie P^t^yptologiqiie pour cette
inscription, excessivement instructive, relative au.x lettres supremes entre le pagan-
isme expirant el le chrisiianisme triiiiniihant.
5«
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
evenements un recit bilingue qu'il plaga k Philee meme. C'est done
la qu'il faut chercher cette nouvelle pierre de Rosette du meroitique,
ce texte capital, si important a trouver si Ton veut lire enfin avec
certitude les textes meroitiques, que M. Brugsch essaie maintenant
d'interpreter sans preuve et sans base. Puisque le dernier No. des
Proceedings nous montre a Philee un ofificier anglais s'interessant a la
science et collaborant utilement aux travaux de notre societe, nous ne
saurions trop I'engager a employer ses hommes a des fouilles jusqu'a
ce que Ton ait enfin mis la main sur ce precieux bilingue de Siaritu.*
Quant a I'inscription purement demotique que nous venons de
traduire, elle fut redigee au retour de Siaritu et place'e a Dakke dans
ce temple de Thot qui avait vu commencer et finir le pelerinage.
L'oracle de Philee et celui de Dakke ne furent du reste pas les
seuls que veneraient et consultaient les Ethiopiens de cette periode.
Une autre inscription, datee du regne du chef du peuple Ousouni et
que je public dans le No. de ma Revue Egyptologique qui va paraitre
prouve I'importance de l'oracle de Phripihor de Korta (Korti actuel)
auquel le grand pretre Pachome confie le choix de son successeur.
Mais ceci rentre dans ces designations royales ou sacerdotales par
la divinite aux quelles les textes de Diodore, la stele de I'intronisation,
la stele ethiopienne du Louvre, etc., nous ont habitue en Nubie et
qui s'y rattachaient aux traditions ammoniennes des pretres et rois de
la 21^ dynastie, origine probable des princes de Napata. On sait que
sous la 2ie dynastie Amon decidait lui-meme de tout et qu'on le
consultait soit dans les proces civils f ou criminels (comme dans le
proces des scribes d'Amon, recemment public par M. Naville) soit
dans les affaires politiques (comme dans la stele du Louvre dite stele
de I'exil), etc. etc.
Je vous serai bien oblige, mon cher ami, de lire cette lettre dans
la prochaine seance de notre societe.
Agreez, etc, Prof. Eugene Revillout.
Un de nos chers eleves, M. G. Benedite, eleve diplome de I'Ecole du
Louvre, qui va sejourner cet hiver a Philee, pourra dinger ces recherches au point
de vue demotique. Nous recommandons vivement a tous les amis de la science,
particulierement a nos confreres et aux officiers anglais qui pourront proteger son
voyage jusqu'en Nubie, ce jeune savant si meritant, qui s'est devoue a cette oeuvre
importante.
T C'etait aussi Amon qui, dans deux decrets celebres qu'on a compares a tort
a des contrats de mariage, fixait I'heredite de deux princesses. II en etait
de meme pour les decrets d'Amon rendus a I'occasion de funerailles.
59
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [1887.
ASSYRIAN LETTERS, II.
By S. Ai.den Smith.
It would be quite true to say that each Assyrian tablet is
sufificiently different from all others to require a special study.
But every letter or report-tablet absolutely demands for its ex-
planation the use of all the resources of the philologist. He may
have succeeded in obtaining a fairly good translation and explana-
tion of one hundred letters, but afier that the same laborious
method must be pursued with the second hundred. So many
entirely new words and forms occur, that the student is often
puzzled to know how he shall at all succeed in arriving at a know-
ledge of tlie contents of the documents before him. Often the
word which forms the key-note to the letter is entirely unknown.
The connection with anything else that is known is often so slight,
that we are aided very little. In such cases as this it not un-
frequently happens that the translations of two independent scholars
resemble more nearly the conflicting accounts of the political op-
ponents at the "Round Table Conference," than a translation
of the same Assyrian document.
Continued study of this class of tablets has also convinced
me that many of them are " gossipy." Sometimes various small
matters that seem to have become public talk are brought before
the king. Private grievances are stated, and the interference of
the king is implored. In others again the writer is a suppliant
who asks to be dealt with mercifully by the king. Sometimes
again the author is defending himself against the attacks of others.
What charges had been made against him can generally only
be learned by the hints given in his answers.
A new interest attaches to the collection of letters which follows ;
they are filled with quite new words, forms, and expressions. These
are valuable though we may not be able to explain them. Of
course, when two or three such words occur in the same small
letter, it cannot be translated with any certainty. It may be
possible to give a translation which will make sense, but it will
still be doubtful whether we have conveyed the meaning the writer
intended.
60
Nov. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1SS7.
I give these texts, therefore, realizing how doubtful much that
I have written is, but hoping that parallel passages will soon be
found which will make many a dark place light.
Trariscrip tion.
A-na sarri beli-ia
ardu-ka Nabd-nadin-sum
lu-u sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia
Nabii u Marduk a-na sarri
5 be-li-ia lik-ru-bu
ina eli nam-bur-bi hul du-a-bi
sarru be-h is-pur-an-ni
ma-a a-na si-ia-a-ri
e-pu-us li-mu la tabu
10 vlmu XXV kan nu-sa-as-bat
{imu XXVI kan ni-pa-as
u ina eli it-ti
an-ni-ti sarru be-li
(dib)-bi-su
15 lu la id-da-ab-bu-ub
Bel u Nabu am-mar
ittu se-tu-uk-ki
ma-su a-na sarri beli-ia
u-se-tu-uk-ku
20 sarru be-li lu la i-pa-luh.
Translation,
To the king, f?iy lord,
thy servant, Nabii-nadin-su)n.
Peace to the king, my lord.
May Nebo and Merodach to the
king,
my lord, be gracious.
About the explatiation of evil of
all kinds,
the king, my lord, has sent to me
thus : In the morning
it shall be done, to-day is not good.
The tiuenty-fifth day one ivill cause
it to be taken in ha7id ;
the twenty-sixth day, we will do
{it);
and concerning this
sign, may the king, my lord,
his word
not speak.
Bel and Nebo I saw,
the sign they caused to advance.
As ? to the king, my lord,
they cause to advance,
may the king, my lord, 7wt fear.
Remarks.
This text is quoted by Strassmaier, KN {cf. Bezold, Literatur-
geschichte, p. 237). It is written in quite clear Assyrian, and only
two or three places are at all doubtful. The letter seems to be an
answer to the king, who had written asking for some explanations.
The day being unpropitious, the answer could not be given at once,
but the matter should receive immediate attention.
Line 6. I have transcribed this line into Accadian, since the
Assyrians themselves probably pronounced it thus. For the value
61
Nov. i]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
[18S7.
of the sign >-i^yyy^, cf. S^' 171-2, where it is explained by pa-
sa-ru. It, therefore, means "explanation." Whether iiatti-bul -vf^s
ever pronounced in this way, I am unable to say. The character
bi corresponds to the suffix sii in Assyrian. Cf. K. 1794, col. X.
(Asurbanipaltexte, Hefte II). ^ y| ^, is the Assyrian kalama.
Line 8. Si-ia-a-ri. Strassmaier, A V No. 7034 gives in-
correctly -^yj- -ia-a-ri. Cf. the Hebrew "^HlD.
Line 12. //-//. This word and the first one in line 17 are to
be derived from the Hebrew jlii^.
Line 14. Dib-bi-su. This is the most probable restoration of the
line. The root is m"T» from which the verb id-da-ab-bu-ub in the
following line also comes.
Line 17. Se-tu-nk-ki. The sign >-^y is not certain, though it
seems to me highly probable. The tablet is badly broken. The
stem is !^]-\^4. The form is shaphel permansive.
Line iS. Ma-su. Cf. Strassmaier, A V No. 5097, VR 29, 65.
66, where this word is explained by ^^yf, which certainly means
"as." ^
Line 19. U-sc-fii-uk-ki, is to be derived from pHi^-i-
K. 80.
Transcription.
T>'ansIatio7i.
A-na sarri be-li-a
ardu-ka Nabu-nadin-sum
lu-u sul-mu a-na sarri be-li-a
Nabu ^Llrduk a-na sarri
5 be-li-ia lik-ru-bu
ina eli tak-pi-ir-ti
sa te-e-mu sak-na-ku-ni
at-ta-lak tak-pi-ir-tu
da-at-tu u-sa-as-bit
10 ultu Ni-nu-a
pag-lu sa ali Zi- . . . .
uk-te-li-[lu?]
a-du ali Sa-si-na-ni
at-ta-lak tc-c-mu
To the king, my lord,
thy servant, Nabii-nadin-sum.
Fence to the king, my lord.
May Nebo, Merodach to the king,
my lord, be gracious.
As to the digging (?),
about ivhich command has been
given,
I went. The work of digging
immediately (?) / caused to
take 71 in ha fid,
from Nineveh
the canal of Zi- ....
I finished.
To the city of Sasinani
I ivent ; command
be
62
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1SS7.
15 a-na am. da-a-a-li to the Da'ali,
sa ultu Ninua who from Nineveh
is-si-ia u-sa-an-ni with me we7it forth
u a-na am. da-a-a-li and to the Da'ali
sa Kal-ha a-sa-kan-su-nu of Kalach I gave.
20 mu-uk tu-ba-la Therefore (?) thou shalt bring
{them),
ina lib-bi ali Ka-sap-pa into Kasappa
tu-sa-lik-a thou shalt cause (them) to enter.
Remarks.
This tablet is perfect except part of two signs in line 9, obverse,
and the ends of the last two lines of the same side are broken away.
The writing is Assyrian. It has not been mentioned anywhere
before. I am not at all sure that I have the right idea of the
contents of this letter. It all turns upon the derivation given to
tak-pi-ir-ti. It seems to me to be connected with the root "^^p from
which we have Kah-u "grave," the Hebrew "^Ilf^- Cf Strassm.,
A V No. 7305. The form of the word which we have here is
unknown to me elsewhere, and when other passages are found, the
connection may compel us to seek for another derivation and
explanation.
Line 7, sak-na-ku-ni. The root is "^y^.
Line 9, daat-tu. I think the text reading is without doubt
correct ; part of tu is however broken away. The word is entirely
new, and I have no explanation to offer. It may be an adjective
qualifying takpi-ir-tu, or it may be an adverb belonging to the verb.
I have taken it in the latter sense and given it a meaning which
seemed to me to suit the connection.
Line 11, pag-Iu. The reading may be Jm-lu. Here again I
have been compelled to translate according to the connection,
without being able to explain the word. — The sign »^|4<^ seems
to me quite certain, but the following two characters I cannot
make out with any certainty. The traces of the first lend them-
selves to *~\i^ or some other character beginning in that way.
For the last sign, what I see is -^f. Strassmaier suggested to
me the restoration kir-tu, since the name occurs elsewhere.
Line 12, uk-te-li-\lu{f)\. I am obliged to Mr. Strassmaier for
this completion. The root is 7~i3, " to complete."
"63
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF lilBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1887.
Line 15. It is impossible to tell what functionary is meant
by the Daali.
Line 20, vui-iik. I think that this word is to be written with
3, for I have found it elsewhere written >t<^ ]^. Cf. K. 662,
36 (Strass., A V No. 5452), mu-uk snrri lu-ki-na-an-ni-ni, "there-
fore (?) may the king establish me." Ahi-ukiiitg) is perhaps the
same word. The particle >t<S ^^ is also found ; it seems to
correspond to the Latin "quod" and the Greek o-n. Cf. also
i^^. This mu-uk may be a formation like the S\riac 1^^. See
Noldeke, Maud. Gram., p. 204. The stem is quite certainly pro-
nominal.
Line 22, tu-sa-Uk-a. This word is the Shaphel form of *Tyr\-
K. Si.
Trajiscription.
A-na sarri matate be-li-ia
ardu-ka Kudurru Uruk u Bitan-na
a-na sarri matate be-li-ia lik-ru-bu
u-um-us-su Istar Uruk u Na-na-a
5 a-na balat napsate sarri bt§li-ia u-sal-lu
Ba-sa-a am. apil sipri (?) sa sarri be-li-a
a-na bul-ti-ia is-pu-ra
ub-tal-lit-an-ni ilani rabute
sa same-e u irsi-tim a-na sarri beli-a
10 lik-tar-ra-bu u kussu sarri beli-ia
lib-bu-u same-e a-na da-ris lu-kin-nu
sa mi-i-tu a-na-ku u sarru beli-ia
u-bal-lit-an-ni ta-ab-ta-a-ti
sa sarri be-h-ia i-na muh-hi-ia
15 ma-'-da a-na a-ma-ru
sa sarru be-li-ia at-tal-ka
um-ma al-lak-ma pa-ni sa sarri beli-ia
am-mar-ma u-rad-di-e-ma
a-bal-lut am. rab mu ul-tu harrana
20 a-na Uruk
ut-tir-ra-an-ni
um-ma am. rab ka-sir
ul-tu ekalli ali Ku
a-na muh-hi-ka it-ta sa-'
64
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1S87.
25 it-ti-ia ana Uruk
ta-nam-hi-is-ma
ti-e-mu i-sag-gan-ga
a-na Uruk ut-tir-an-ni
sarru beli-a lu-u i-di.
Translation.
To the king of countries, my lord,
thy servant Kudurru. Alay Erech and Bitanna
to the king of countries, my lord, be gracious.
Daily (?) to Istar of Erech and Nana
5 for the saving of the life of the ki?ig, my lord, I pray,
Basa, the Messenger l^) of the kitig, my lord,
for my life sent ;
he preserved my life. Alay the great gods
of heaveii atid earth to the king, my lord,
\o be gracious and the throne of the king, my lord,
in the midst of the heavens for ever establish.
For I was to die and the king, my lord,
preserved my life; the benefits
of the king, my lord, to me
15 {are) many. To see
the king, my lord, I went.
Thus I went, and in presence of the king, my lord,
I saw a?id came forth and
shall live. The chief of the Mu from the roads
20 to Erech
has returned to me,
thus : the chief of the forces
from the palace of Ku
to thee was brought.
25 tvith me to Erech
thou shall iirge {him) forward and
news will be given.
To Erech he will return to me.
May the king, my lord, know.
Remarks.
This letter is written in very clear, new Babylonian. The Avriter
seems to have lived at Erech, for the gods of this city are mentioned.
65 F
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BII5LICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [18S7.
The expression in the second line (Erech and Bitanna) probably
stands for all the gods of these places, as INIr. Pinches suggested to
me. The letter, like many others from Babylonia, is very flattering
to the Assyrian king. It may be that the writer desired to convince
the king of his loyalty ; I am — however, often inclined to doubt
the sincerity of many of those generals and other officials of
Babylonia, who professed such devotion to the will and wish of the
great king. For, it must be remembered, that the Babylonians were
struggling for their independence, and hence they were ready to do
anything that was likely to aid them in attaining that end. Asur-
banipal himself tells us that his brother Samas-sum-ukin, the king of
Babylon, constantly professed loyalty with his lips, while in his heart
he was planning a most rebellious revolt. These letters, therefore,
may have been intended to deceive.
Line 4, u-vni-us-su. I think that this word is an adverb from
□V, "day." Assurbaiiipaltexte HeftW, pp. 41. 75.
Line 6. I am uncertain what the seventh sign is, but the reading
^gJ suits the connection. The character is badly broken on the
tablet.
Line 10, lik-tar-ra-bu, is Iftaal, from D.'ID? "to be gracious."
Line 19, am. rab Mu. It maybe that instead of viu we are to
read "^^, the numeral sign for 50. Mr. Pinches, however, sees
also 7nu, and thinks that he has found such an official elsewhere,
but we could not find a passage.
Line 23, Kii. This seems to be the name of a city, but I am
unacquainted with the name in other passages.
Line 24, it-fa-sa- is Iftaal, from i^iXI^i].
Line 26, ta-nain-hi-is-nia. I derive this word from the root Vriw,
which occurs in several passages in my Asurbanipaltexte, Heft II.
See the remarks p. 53.
Line 27, i-sag-gan-ga, is a very peculiar form, undoubtedly from
the root p-^IT.
K. 89.
Tra fiscrip tion . Tra /is la lion .
A-na sarri beli-ni To the king, our lord,
ardani-ka thy serfanfs,
Marduk-sum-iddin (?) AlarJiik-suin-iddin,
66
Nor. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
Xa-si-ru A-gar-a-a
5 Nabu INIarduk
a-na sarri beli-ni
lik-ru-bu
til-li-ni
ina lib-bi ki-ir-si
10 i-ba-as-si
sarru beli-ni
a-na Sa-si-di
ti-e-mu
lis-ku-un
15 lu-se-su-na-si
me-me-ni
la u-ram-ma-na-si
la nu-sa
Nasiru, AganV .
May Nebo {and) Merodach
to the khig, our lord,
be gracious.
Our zvork
m the cold (?)
was.
May the king, our lord,
to Sasidi
command
give,
may he cause {hint) to go out to us.
Ail
do not love us ;
we will not go forth.
Remarks.
This is a very curious letter ; I am not sure that I understand
what is intended by it. The three mentioned as servants of the
king seem to have been entrusted with some ofificial work and to be
now making a report upon it to the king. If my understanding and
rendering of it be correct, they make the complaint which doubtless
most officials of their time could have made, "nobody loves us."
Oriental rulers or officials of any kind, have never been specially
loved by their people, chiefly because they were despotic, and took
away or abridged the rights and privileges of the governed. But
officials in many another land may also complain, "none love us."
Line 9, ki-ir-si. This is a difficult word. It occurs also K. 113, 6.
I think that the Arabic ^j^\ " to freeze " is to be compared.
According to this, the meaning may be "ice," "snow" or "frost,"
but I have preferred to use the general term "cold." I have else-
where found the writing ^^][< "S^yf.
Line 15, lu-se-su-na-si. I think this must be the correct reading,
although the original is not very clear. The form is the precative
of the shaphel from i^^i^T with the suffix of the ist pers. plu.
Line 16, me-me-ni. I take this word to be the plural of the well-
known indefinite pronoun inanman, mamma, etc. Cf. Pinches in
my Assurbanipal texte. Heft II, p. 63.
Line 17, ti-ram-ma-na-si\ derive from the root Qfc^sl "to love."
67 F 2
Nov. I ]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV.
[1887.
K. 47S.
Traiiscription.
A-na ummi sarri
be-li-ia
ardu-ka A-sa-ri-du
Nabu u Marduk
5 a-na ummi sarri
be-li-ia lik-ru-bu
u-mu-us-su
Nergal u La-as
a-na balat napsate
10 sa sarri u ummi sarri
be-li pi.
u-sal-lu
sul-mu a-na ali
u bit ilani
15 sa sarri u a-du-u
ma-as-sar-tu
sa sarri be-li-ia
a-na-as-sar
Translation.
To the motJier of the king,
my lord,
thy servant^ Asaridu.
May Nebo and Mcrodach
to the mother of the king,
my lord, be gracious.
Daily (?)
to Nergal and Merodach
to preserve the life
of the king and the mother of the
king,
the lords,
I pray.
Peace to the city
aftd to the palace of the gods
of the king ; and no7V
the 7vatch
of the king, my lord,
I keep.
Remarks.
This small tablet is merely a letter of congratulation as others in
our collection are. They are simple, since the words they contain
are of such frequent repetition. This text is quoted by Strass-
maier, A V Cf. Bezold, Literatiirgeschichte, p. 261. Part of the
name is wanting here, but I see it plainly enough on the tablet.
Line 8, La-as. I am uncertain how this name is to be read ;
I know no passage that decides it.
Transcription.
A-na sarri beli-ia
ardu-ka Na-bu-u-a
Asur Sa-mas
Bel Nabfl
a-na-sarri bcli-ia
lik-ru-bu
K. 481.
Translation.
To the king, my lord,
thy servant, Nabiia.
May Asur, Samas,
Bel, Nebo,
to the king, my lord,
be gracious ;
68
Nov. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
su-um-rat lib-bi
a-na sarri beli-ia
lu-sak-si- du
10 ma-sar-tu
ni-ta-sar
umu XIV kam Sin Samas
a-hi-is
e-ta-am-ru
the wish of the heart
to the king, my lord,
may it cause to take.
The watch
we keep;
on the fourtecTith day the moon and
sun
together
were seen.
Remarks.
Strassmaier, A V, Nos. 415, 5096, 5696, has given part of
this text quite correctly. Cf. Bezold, Lit., p. 262. The letter
probably came from an astrologer, or some one whose duty it was
to observe the movements of the heavenly bodies, and foretell
coming events by them. The meaning of the appearance of the
sun and moon at the same moment which is here communicated,
was doubtless very well known.
Line 7, su-um-rat. The root of this word is "1^2^. Cf.
W.A.I., V 16, 44, su-um-mu-ru. This expression occurs frequently
in the inscriptions of Assurbanipal and elsewhere.
Line 9, lu-sak-si-du, is the precative of the shaphel of T^^.
Line 14, e-tam-ru, is to be derived from "^^b^, "to see."
K. 493.
Tra 71 scrip tio n .
A-na sarri be-li-ia
ardu-ka Marduk(?)-suni(?)-
iddin
lu sul-mu a-na sarri
be-li-ia a-dan-nis a-dan-nis
5 Nabll Marduk a-na sarri
be-li-ia lik-ru-bu
XXV u-ra-a-te
sa na-kan-te
sa III pi-ir-ra-a-ni
10 sa Kal-hi
sa Ni-nu-a
Translation.
To the kifig, my lord,
thy seri'anf, Mardi{k{J)-su?n(?)-
iddin.
Peace to the kifig,
my lord. Cotistantly, constantly
may Nebo {and) Merodach to
the king,
my lord, be gracious.
25 animalsi^) {for offerings)
from the treasury
of which three (are) young(?)
from Kalach
from Nineveh
69
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOHV. [1S87.
sa Dur-sar-ukin from Dur-sar-ukin
it-tal-ka-a-ni have arrived ;
la as-ti-e-ri they are not provided forQ).
15 ina si-a-ri In the mor7img
mi-i-nu the count {tvill be made),
sa sarru be-li as the king, my lord
i-kab-bu-u-ni has commanded.
Remarks.
This letter has been translated by Mr. Pinches in the Records
of the Past, Vol. XI, p. 75. My translation differs from his through-
out, but it will be observed that many of my renderings are queried.
The translation of my valued friend in the R. P. cannot certainly
lay claim to correctness, as he now freely admits. It should
certainly have been put forward doubtfully from the first. Mr.
Pinches has since labelled the tablet : " About Horses and Mares,"
and in a private communication he still maintains it ; I cannot,
however, see that the reasons for it justify the translation, and hence
I have not adopted it. The above translation must be regarded
as very doubtful. I should not have given it, but the text has
never been edited, and it belongs to the collection of letters which
this series of papers is intended to give.
Line 7, 21-ra-a-te. For the meaning " horses," Mr, Pinches
refers me to his paper in the Proceedings for April ist, 1884, p. 159,
line 53, am. u-ri-e, u-ra-a ; but it does not seem to me that the
translation " master of horses, foals," is necessary or conclusive.
My translation makes the word mean animals in general for offering.
Line 8, na-kan-te. The root of this word seems certainly to
be Q22, "to heap up." See the passages given under this word
in the Glossar to Heft I, of my Asurbanipaltexte. Cf further
W.A.I. , V 13, 20, en-nu-iin 7ia-kan-tum, \ ditto {ina-sar') na-ka-an-ti.
Asurnasirpal II, 64. The word certainly means " treasury." It
appears to be the place where all things necessary for the temple
service were kept.
Line c), pi-ir-ra-a-ni, seems to be connected with HlC, "young,"
though I am not certain about it.
Line 14. I think that the characters following la form one
word, as-ti-e-ri. I connect the word with the Syriac ;»j>C]0 ; of this,
however, I am in doubt.
70
Nov. i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[18S7.
K. 498.
Transcription.
A-na sarri be-li-ia
ardu-ka Rammanu-ibni
lu sul-mu a-na sarri
be-li-ia
5 apil Babili
su-u ina muh-hi-ia
it-tal-ka ma-a di-bi
ina pi-ia ma-a ina ekalli
lu-bi-lu-u-ni
10 u-ma-a an-nu-sim
• ina pa-an sarri be-li-ia
u-si-bi-la-su
sarru be-li lis-al-su
me-nu sa di-bi-su-u-ni
15 umu XXVIII kan ultu libbi
Za-ad-di
ina pa-an sarri be-li-ia
u-si-bi-la-su
Translation.
To the king, my lord,
thy sen'a?it, Rammanu-ibm.
Peace to the king,
?ny lord.
The son of Babylon,
he to me
catne ; both the woj-d
in my mouth and in the palace
may he bring.
Now at once
before the king, my lord,
I will bring him.
May the king, my lord, ask him
what their zvords {are).
On the 2%th day from
Zaddi
before the king, my lord,
I luill bring him.
Remarks.
There is little to be noticed, though it is not easy to see the
meaning of the tablet as a whole.
Line 7, ^|^ X^-, I regard as the same word as dib-bi, which
is usually found. The root is of course ^11.
Line 16, Za-ad-di. Cf as passages where this word occurs
W.A.I. , I, pi. 33, Col. II, line 10; pi. 34, Col. IV, line 2.
K. 52:
Transcription.
A-na sarri beli-ia
ardu-ka Istar-sum-eres
lu sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia
Nabu u Marduk
a-na sarri beli-ia
lik-ru-bu
sa sarri be-li
is-pur-an-ni
Translation.
To the king, my lord,
thy servant, Istar-sum-eres.
Peace to the king, my lord.
May Nebo and Merodach
to the king, my lord,
be gracious.
As to what the king, my lord,
has sent to me.
71
Nov. i] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [18S7.
ma-a i-sir(?)-tu-u thus ; the document (?)
10 me-me-ni ina lib-bi tuhatever in the midst
sa-at-rat is written^
ub-ta-'-i / have sought.
la as-su There is not ;
i-sir-tu the document (?)
15 la sa-at-rat. is not written.
Remarks.
This letter is quoted by Strassmaier A V in several places.
See Bezold, Z//., p. 264. He has, however, given ^ ^ ^ doubtfully
at the end of line 2, which does not exist on the tablet.
Line 9, i-siri?)-tu-u. I cannot explain this word. My translation
is only what the connection seems to me to demand.
Line 1 2, ub-ta--i. This word is to be derived from H^sHj " to
seek."
Line 13^ la as-su. Cf. Arabic ^m^.
72
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., November, i5
Plate I.
K. 21.
T? -^I j^^ -\ ^t\\
^ ^ t^r? IH iin ^-
j^^ ^ j^ ^W ^V -HF- ^
^r \\ n >^T <T- ^^r? i? -tr
!=EE J^ ^ ^
->f j^ --y< jj:^ ^ >^
Reverse.
in ^^ I
15- i^ -^r ^r ^rr ^^^r ^- ^^t^
t^ ^^ r? ^\ ^^ -\ Y/
j^rTr!= ^ -m tsi ^::^
^r
«^
-1
«n]^
<\-m *
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., November, 1887.
Plate II.
K. 80.
-^y -tu T ->f ^ ^, >^
->f^ ->f <:=:-^r y? --y ^^^
5- ^ m ^m m im ^-
- <-^H j:^ -> m -<]<
Hy c^-y 5.y? >^ '^yy^ ^] m ^
t^i j^yyy ^jii ^^^^ -7- s^ -^y
E?yyy ^^^y -^i ^yir^. >^ ^:^ mi
10. ^ryy ^-yy ^ >^ yr
-yiiiiy ^yy -^yy -yy^i^
s^ ^y -^im^m
Reverse.
y? j:;<y -^yy ^ '^yy ^y ^
t^y j^yyy -jii ^r^^^y j^y? >^
15- Vy ^] t^ Bll Vr Vr -S^
Hy ^yyy -^yy ^jki m
^] '^yy ttVy ^m- Vr ->f ^
<y-iEiy y? -^y ^:;^ ^yy Vr v, -^n
Hy -^yy -yyi^ Vy< y? >?^ ^^ i ^t^
20. w^ gr^CTT ^^y "-^y ^^y
- ^yyy t^ ^j^yy ^-^ j^HI ^
-^y ^yy im y?
G 2
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., Novonber, 1887.
Plate III.
K. 81.
-vr ^v\]^ ^ tm m <KET ^T ->f -^T
V, ^] ;^- ".^ \^ -^ j^ E^r? IH ^ ^-
r? ^i iir 4et ^r? ^ir -^- ^n
:^ ^i 0 ->f j^ ->f ]^ ^r- n-
«r -^- '^ ->f ^? T? -^r "Er^T ^h "^r m v-
¥ <^^ ^ ^%} Vf -^] © <ym ^^^ -^ Vr
^ .^y.- 0 .>f ^ '^y<y tt] :^i] Vr >4<
¥ j^ -^ j^- ^y? B -^r <:^i^r4 ^i?
¥ ;^- -^ ^ E^I? ^^T -in ::^?^T
4=4 M- ^y -5^ -yy- ^^y ^? "^y
y? -H<^ :s?^^ ^ ly- >^ <-y<^ -^^y #$yy
20. yT ^y ^<T<y 4^y
-^y -^^^^ "^n ->f 4^
^Vi 'Ey ^ ly- ^?^y ^"liycy
Reverse.
<s:y4^ -^^y :^y ^y- ^y t:^^
]; -^y <-M 4 ^?^y :^y4y ^^ ¥ 4-
25. "Ey^y KK ^y? y;^ -^y ^m ^^y
^] -m 4 '^y ^y
^^y ^} >^ B ^H "j^^ :^i
Vr ^] ^H 4^y ^y -^^^ ->f ^
i^= -n y? H -^ tH 4^y
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., November, 1887,
Plate IV.
K. 89.
-^r T-- -^Idf
T ^^ j^yy iiii y yi; ^ y? y?
5. ^^ .Q^ .>]^ <-.^y
y? -^y ti:^ -n ^
IM iiii ^-
<fiy -s^ ^
^ ^yyy x:^%\m ^\\
10. ^^ -^r ^ <y-
y? -^y y >^ ^^yy <y^(?)
Reverse,
::^^y 5^y? >^
<T igf -yrr
15. niy ^ t^^ >^y <y-
y^ y^ 5^
-^y j^yyyj^ j:<^ ^y -^y <y-
-^y V- ??
Plate V.
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., November, 1887,
K. 478.
tS-^ YYY
-k-v*
-+ <>^ir < ->f >-%^ g^
10. V -^ < ;5^ -^
Reverse.
< :sr ->f )^
15. y 5^:= < I? Jr;<r <
T? -^I fr^ ®
Proc. Soc. Bibl. ArcJi., November, 1887.
Plate VI.
K. 48
I.
T? ^t
-\
tm
-^r>
-H T ^\
f^-
<T?
->f
-V ->f
V
>f
-^m
->f
-B
5- r? ^
-\
t^n
m
iTTT
^-
t^^
^rrr -^v
■ ^ITT
>— <
»— <
T? -^I 5^:^
-H
^^y?
iHi
-}w
<T-
J^T
Revers
;e.
10. ^y
©
-t^r
^
j^irr
i^
^y <v 4-^ ->f <« '
->f ^r
Vf
^
^TT
j=T? ^TTT ^ iin
Proc. Soc. Bill. Arch., November, 1887.
Plate VIL
K. 493.
^ m -m Vr ^IVr « Vy ^W, «
-^ jff ^I? IH ^'U ^-
«77
m^ ^^iT y? ^T
HI
^T j^ ^T
HT
Try -> ^ ^^yy y;f ^
o- HI
-^ri ^m ^
•Eir
^-yy j^ V !?
'^TT
-^11 ti0 « J^r
^^T
-in -^ Ty ^
-^T
<S <y^ 5.y; ^yyi
Reverse.
5- ^
<r- T? >Hi
<J^^
-^ ^
^TT
ti^ -^ s??
t^ ^^ < j^
Proc, Soc. Bibl, Arch., November, 1887.
Plate VIII.
K. 498.
Vi ^ t^^w ^ ^
-^\ -^H r -Hh A^
i^
m <^^:^ ^ I? ^^T ^
^ ^ -tVr
5- ^ t^} c-Hh ^j:yT <:^
Mi < -^-^H 4 ^^y;^
^T ^i -^H ^y y? <y^
- >— <
^ -^ ^y? ^y y? ^ ^yyyy
^y-
mi c^ iin < f?f
lo- m t] Vy -^ -7^ tz
;^yy
^ ^ ->f fc^^ ^ j^ff-
^tVr
m -yy j^ -^y
Ml
ti:?^ -< ^ <y !=uy
Ml
T- -T^ ^yy <y!?= i^ i. <
^
Reverse.
15. ^] ^i^} ^ ^yyy
^yyy
,^yT V, tZ] <y^
^ ^ ^Hh ^^ ^ ^
ttVr
« -yy :^ -^y
Ml
Proc. Soc. Bill. Arch., November, \i
Plate IX.
K. 522.
^^^ ^v ->f ^
•^T ^^T -IT-
Reverse.
-^T
^
I
!=^
-<-^
-sIT
5- -^y
V ^^r
-TT-
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
INSCRIPTION AT KUM-EL-AHMAR.
By p. le Page Renouf (^President).
The inscriptions copied by Professor Sayce at KUm-el-aJimar, the
site of the ancient Hieraconpohs, are memorials of a distinguished
personage named Thoth, who hved in the reign of Thothmes II, in
the early part of the eighteenth dynasty. They contain many of
the "phrases banales," as M. Mariette called them, which are found
on so many well-known funereal inscriptions, but the text is un-
fortunately damaged, or requires corrections in some of the most
interesting parts, especially of the smaller inscriptions. An analysis
of the contents of the principal one is therefore at present prefer-
able to a rough and necessarily conjectural translation.
The large inscription is surmounted by the Winged Disk, beneath
which are the usual words, " Behutet the great god lord of heaven,"
and under the invocation, " Live (viva) the fair god, Aa-yeper-ka,
who loves the Hawk of Nexen" {written from left to right), "the
Son of Ra, Thutmes like Ra, loving Osiris " {ivritten from right to
left).
The third nome of Upper Egypt Jj^ . Ten had for metro-
polis the town of -L jL,, Etixebit, called by the Greeks Eilethyia, the
ruins of which are on the site of the modern El Kab, on the right
bank of the Nile, between Esneh and Edfu. One of the autonomous
districts of this nome called Kamliesu was situated on the left bank
of the river, and the chief town was otherwise written ,
r^''^'^., © , and in other forms having the phonetic value
7iexen. The Greek name Hieraconpohs, city of the Hawks, is
derived from the three hawk-headed divinities,* who were called
r<^^N> ftAAAA/s bam nexen, " the spirits of Nechen," and are said in the 1 13th
chapter of the Book of the Dead to be Horus, Tuamutef, and Kebeh-
senuf. Horus, the chief of these gods, was worshipped here under
the form of a hawk crouching, sometimes bearing upon its head the
feathers ^ , sometimes the royal crown Q , and sometimes upon
* See vignette in M. Naville's edition of the Book of the Dead.
73 H
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGV. [18S7.
its back the Hail A- The Egyptian name for this form of the hawk is
or I ^ \^ ■ ^"V^, k(vnx<isii.'^ Another very frequent appellative
of Horus under the form of the crouching hawk is ^ ^\^ sepfu.
This god was by no means a minor divinity, but a supreme god
whenever mentioned, even when his name is followed by such
epithets as ' god of the East,' or ' god of war.' His name occurs
in the Pyramid Texts.
The third line begins a Si/tcn-/iofeJ>-fd, in which Anion the lord of
the thrones of the universe,| Horus of the Horizon, the divinities
of Hieraconpolis, and the gods reposing in their shrines are requested
to grant their offerings of the staff of life ( q^ /wwvs y x^/ efi dtix )
and their provisions of the divine Netherworld to the kn of Thoth,
chief of xA.rtists, | 3 ^\ I . The ' Artists ' in question were
employed in sculpture and engraving, and the merits of Thoth were
not of a mechanical order, but like those of one of his predecessors,
whose tablet has been interpreted by M. Maspero,J distinguished
by learning and originality of composition.
The words immediately following the name and title of Thoth are
doubtful, but he is spoken of as " holding a first rank in the royal
service, vigilant over the public works, dexterous in the exercise of
art, and gentle of heart towards associates who celebrate his name
because of his works, and without a fault on his part towards his lord.
There proceeded nought perverse from his mouth. Upright of heart
was he towards his honourable associates."
The word which I translate " associates " is generally written
"^ V^ V' ^'' "^ V^ V^ '"''("I'' ii^ hieroglyphics. The absence of
the sign f>^ tu, which is not phonetically the same as ^ ^ ///,
might however imply a different word.
The deceased is then, according to the Egyptian fashion, made
to speak in the first person : —
* See Brugsch IVorterbuc/i, p. 1546, and Dictioiuiairc Gtographiqiie, p. 30.
t Nes-tau, ' thrones of the universe,' was the name of Anion's sanctuary at
Thebes; see Brugsch, Diet. Gcogr., p. 360.
X Transactions, Vol. \', jiji. 555-562.
74
n
a o
U ^ \^
-^ ^ % 0>
I ! A -j ^ - «=
"^- /j ^ „
n -
o
•H O
o
o a
a
cH
Cl \
^
^==1
^
^
::;
^^ llll FTZ^
Jfo^ E
331
OCO<
o
5= a
- Hh
\^¥
• -
13
t3
t3l
r
3
^D ]ilE
^
a^
^ ^
^s?^
D
,-^ B t^ ?-- =e
yo-j
5^=
<;
0 —
<; \
a
0 =
c-
DC
:><
oF=
1^^
4
^
a
a
^ ^ oO e
Pi I il ^ ^^
r-K
^
OOo<
xa<;
^=1 —
ooo< _
$y «^ ^faiD cH
a|;
^ r t)^
=!|^ ^ ^'
^0'
oh
0?-
- - S- c=<l)
v]< — yr
€^
<^
^
c^
50=>
^
000<
oho
Do o^E^
O- (^-
^[^
OOoC
<^
0 =
>-
;a|-
c
c
ooo<
i
o
1^
<^ c>oo<
0 -
O"
^
0^
< >
o
o ;
I— ( 1=5
1—1 ®
Ph ^
I— I
U
CO
a(S>^
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [1887,
" I have done what men esteem and the gods desire, may they
grant that my house be estabhshed for ever, and that my name may
flourish in the mouth of men after years to come, when they see
standinsf what I have done."
There is clearly a word (such as "ilK (I (J ) missing at the end
of the tenth line, which must be supplied to satisfy the grammar
of the sentence. The sense would then run : " I made halls of
pleasaunce of this abode of the Netherworld, men worked for me
with pleasure."
What follows seems to be a description of the pictures in the
tomb : " I am coming forth from my house into my barge to those
fields of mine which I laid out ; I am ploughing with my yokes of
oxen the best of the arable land which I myself created for my
monument of the Netherworld ; my god made it prosper for me. I
did that which pleased his genius, and he appointed me to the
command of the rut district, ^^ ."
The meaning of the last expression is open to considerable
doubt.
Brugsch has shown in his Geographical Dictionary that the word
V\, V\ rut or "Ti-^ X\ ^^^^' ^"^ters into the composition of
geographical names, and his last researches have led him to believe
that it corresponds to the Arabic term (__j»>- h(t2(f, which is given to
certain districts containing several villages or hamlets.
Rut, however, has many other meanings, and one of the best
known is in connection with the expression ^^ '^ ^^(it fut, which
occurs in the Rosetta inscription, corresponding to the Greek
ff-Tcpeov Xt'Ooii "hard stone," or in much earlier texts (l^^"''^'^ v\ »^
aneren rut.
It may therefore be conjectured that the jurisdiction of Thotb
extended over all the quarries of hard stone.
It will be observed that the group fi <cir> ^^ heter is used for
oxen, as it is also in the Tale of the Two Brothers. This is a new
and convincing proof that the word did not originally mean horse^
but that it was applied at a comparatively late period to that animal,
and that at first only in the sense of biga.
75 H 2
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGV. [1887.
The text continues, " I was in the favour of the lord of the
universe [the King], and he made me to be agreeable to men and
loved by my god ; this he did through extreme admiration of me in
consequence of the excellence of my designs."
There are two words in the last sentence which require expla-
nation, [1 ; aqer, and j [1 ' ■ baat. They are words of fre-
quent occurrence, and they are sometimes found together.
They have generally been rendered ' wisdom,' and ' merit.'
Now it is quite true that (1 <::z:> ciqer is translated in the Rhind
papyri by the demotic group signifying ' wise.' But this is a second-
ary meaning only, and depends upon the context. The original
meaning is consummate, perfect, extreme. 1 1 v\ fi [1 <ci> suJn
aqer is not a ' wise egg,' but, as M. de Rouge long ago translated it,
" ovum insigne." (1 <rz> ^ (iqer aqer is not " most wisely," but
"most exceedingly." 1 1( <rzr> seaqer (Todt., 148, i) is not to
instruct, but to make perfect.
I 0 k\ ^ ^^^^^ '^^^y come to signify merit, but it means
much more than this. The word means wonder, astonishment,
admiration. 1 (1 ^R\ [1 [1 ^ baaiu are marvels, miracles,
mirabilia, nlb^SD^. I 1 Jrl '^ QQ aqer baat '\'i' there-
fore equivalent to » .^j^^ ^oU, "the extreme of wonder" or
"admiration." J (j "^ 8() ^ 1 *^'^^^^ only in grammatical
construction, aqer being used adjectively.
" No fault," continues Thoth, " was found before men. I
molested no one in his property. O all ye priests, all ye ministrants
{yer-hebii), all ye scribes, generations past, present, and future, who
live upon earth, and pass by this tomb, as ye wish that your gods
and local divinities should love you whilst you are upon earth, and
that you should transmit your dignities to your children ... say this
Sutenhotep-fd which is upon this tablet for the ka of the Osiris, the
faithful one, the chief of Artists, Thoth, triumphant before the great
god ; — proclaim ye his name, glorify . . . ."
76
Nov. I] PROCEEDINGS. [18S7.
Mankind is here divided as in so many other places into
the "generations past, present and future." The a^
pdii are the dead, the <v\'=' ^^ ^^X^'^ ^''^ ^^^^ Hving, and the
rn ^\ «\ v^ v" ^ ^T ' hamemu are people yet to be born.
The translations " gens eclaires," " illumines " — and the notion of
classes of initiated persons are utterly devoid of foundation.
The orthography 9 V\ 1\ M I hememu is remarkable, but
it harmonises with the forms X ^^-^ ^^\ ^^\ 1=^ M and fi VI
^^^^^^\ ^ /K Wi J4 I of the Pyramid texts. The ^.^wa first
disappeared by assimilation with ^, and the hard \ h was softened to
p[] h. This latter change which is frequent in other languages is
most rare in Egyptian.*
The determinative m attached to the word is explained by the
notion that the hemmemit or hamemu were attached to the Sun's
diskjf or in other words that the human soul before entering upon
its earthly career has had a previous existence of light, glory and
splendour.
Part of the last line is unfortunately doubtful.
"^^^ D v\ X would signify " those under my orders extended
(literally, widened) the road of ... by 21 schoenta." The
^_^ ^ AAAAAA .^ Q
/^^WNA Q v:^ f( yet en eiinuh or ay^oiviov was a measure of
40 Egyptian cubits, or 21*31 metres, at the rate of "5328 per cubit.
* Not a single one of the instances given in that utterly worthless publication
called Eiiileitung in ein aegyptisch-semitisch-indoeuropdisches Wurzelworterbuch
of Dr. Carl Abel, p. 38, can be maintained. The first \ _^^^^ SA Tieqer, to
hunger, has no connection with ,J^-v^ <ci^> S() the name of an Egyptian festival,
In Dr. Birch's Dictionary 'fast' is a misprint for 'feast.' Hence probably the
blunder. Most of the instances throughout the work are on a par with this.
t Cf. Todt. 124, 8, as corrected in M. Naville's edition, and Pyramid of
Unas, line 211.
77
Nov. I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCII.tlOLOGY. [1887
The word about which I am doubtful seems to be | y ^^
uthu, which is in itself susceptible of very different meanings, but
there is no determinative to assist us in the selection.
The smaller inscriptions add nothing to our information. The
name of Thoth's mother was written on the lintel of the outer door,
but it has disappeared.
Thanks were returned for these Communications.
-t^^^P=^
The next Meeting of the Society will be held at 9, Conduit
Street, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesday, 6th December, 1887,
at 8 p.m., when the following Papers will be read : —
I. — Dr. Gaster : — " On a Jewish Apocalypse of Moses."
II. — Professor Amelineau :— " Histoire des Deux Filles de
'Empereur Zenan." (In Coptic.)
78
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHjEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
Uhc Bionse ©rnaments of tbe
lp>alace (Bates from Balawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, II, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordance with the terms of the original prosjDectus, the price for
each part is now raised to ^i 10s. ; to Members of the Society (the original
price) ^'i i^.
Uci'ts in tbe Babylonian
Mebgeswriting.
Being a series of carefully autographed plates, copied from tablets
written in the Babylonian character only; compiled by Theo. G. Pinches,
of the Department of Oriental Antiquities, British Museum.
The design of the Author is to furnish students with the means of
making themselves acquainted with the Babylonian style of writing, and to
this end the texts, which will be of high value and interest, will be
accompanied by as complete a syllabary of the Babylonian characters
as can now be made, arranged in a convenient form for reference.
It is proposed to issue the work in two parts : — Part I has been issued
price 4s. 6d,
Society of Biblical Archeology.
COUNCIL, 1886-87.
President : —
P. LE Page Renouf.
Vice-Presidents : —
Rkv. Frederick Chari.es Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.
Lord Halseurv, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., 6cc.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J- i!- Lighteoot, D.D., &.c., Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., <S;c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart., D.C.L., ^LD., &c., &c.
J. -Manship Norman, M.A.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henrv C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C. L., F.R.S., &c.
Very Re\'. Roi;ert Payne S.mith, Dean of Canterbury.
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, :NLP.
Robert Bagster.
Rev. Charles James Ball.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Cates^
Thomas Christy, E.L.S.
Charles Harrison, E.S.A.
Rev. Alkert Lowy.
CoHw.il :-
&c.
Proeessor a. Macalister, M.D.,
F.R.S.
F. D. Mocatta.
Claude Montekiore.
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
J. Pollard.
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
E. Towry .Whyte, M.A.
Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
Jlonoiury 7'reii.uii\r-- llEiiNAKi; 1 . DosANcjUEr.
Secretary — W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A.
lionoruiy Secretary for Foreign Correspondence — Proe. A. H. Sayce, M.A.
Honorary Librarian — William Simpson, F.R.G.S.
llAKKISdN AND SONS, I'JilNTIiUS I.V ORUINAUY.TO IlliK MAJESTY, ST. MAKTINS LANli.
VOL. X. No. 2.
PROCEEDINGS ^
OF
THE SOCIETY
UK
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
m^
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION.
Second Meetiiig, 6th December, 1887.
^$-
CONTENTS.
PAGE
-Max Muller. — On the Name of Judah in the List of Shoshenq .. 79-83
P. LE Page Renouf, President. — Note on the Same S3-86
E. A. Wai.lis Budge, M.A. — The Fourth Tablet of the Creation
Series (6 plates) 86
RE^". C. J. Ball. — The India House Inscription of Nebuchad-
rezzar 87-129
E. A. Wallis Bulige, M.A. — An Inscrilied P'ragment of Wood
from Thebes 130-131
1*. LE Page Renouf. — Note on Inscription at Kum-el-ahmar 132
-■%'-^
PUBLISHED AT
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
1887.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
FKICE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
Vol.
Vol.
To Me.mbers.
To Non-
Members
s.
d.
s. d.
I,
Part I
lO
6
12 6
I,
,, 2
10
6
12 6
n,
,, I
8
0
10 6
n,
,, 2
8
0
10 6
III,
,, I
8
0
10 6
III,
,, 2
8
0
10 6
IV,
,, I
10
6
12 6
IV,
,, 2
10
6
12 6
V,
,, X
12
6
15 0
V,
,, 2
10
6
12 6
VI,
,, I
ID
6
12 6
VI,
,, 2
ID
6
12 6
VII,
,, I
7
6
10 6
VII,
,, 2
10
6
12 6
VII,
,, 3
10
6
12 6
VIII,
,, I
ID
6
12 6
VIII,
,, 2
10
6
12 6
VIII,
,, 5
10
6
12 6
IX,
,, I
10
6
12 6
PROCEEDINGS.
I,
Session
187S-79 ... 2
0
2 6
II,
1879-80 ... 2
0
2 6
III,
1880-81 ... 4
0
5 0
IV,
1881-82 ... 4
0
5 0
V,
1882-83 ... 4
0
5 0
VI,
1883-84 ... 5
0
6 0
VII,
1884-85 ... 5
0
6 0
VIII,
18S5-86 ... 5
0
6 0
A few complete sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may he
ol)tained on application to the Secretary, W. H. Ryland.s, F.S.A., 11, Hart
.Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
Second Meeting, 6th December, 1887.
P. LE PAGE RENOUF, Esq., President,
IN THE CHAIR.
-=0O##^-
The following Presents were announced, and thanks
ordered to be returned to the Donors : —
From the Author: — Collection de Clerc. Catalogue Methodique
et Raisonne. Folio. Ill, pt. i. Paris, 1885.
From Dr. Wiedemann : — Alt und Neu Agyptische Schadel. Von
Dr. Schmidt^ &c.
From Dr. Wiedemann : — Zeitschrift fiir Aegyp. Spr., 1879. Article
J. Dumichen. Ein Salbolrecept aus dem Laboratorium des
Edfutempels. Svo.
From Dr. Wiedemann :—Geschichte der iSten Egyptischen
Dynastie bis zum Tode Tutmes III. Von A. Wiedemann,
From Dr. Wiedemann : — Eine Aegyptische Statuette aus VViirtem-
burg. Von A. Wiedemann.
From the Author: — Some unpubUshed Esarhaddon Inscriptions.
By Dr. Robert F. Harper. Svo. Conn., U.S.A.
[No. LXX^ 79 I
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.'EOLOGY. [1887,
From the Author : — The Assyrian " E " Vowel. Dr. Paul Haupt,
&c. 8vo. Baltimore, 1887.
From the Author : — Mitteilungen des Akademisch-Orientalist-
ischen Vereins zu Berlin. By Dr. Hugo Winckler. 8vo. 1887.
From the Author : — Resultats Epigraphiques d'une excursion en
Ouadi-Hammamat. Par Dr. W. Golenischeff.
From Rev. C. J. Ball, M.A. : — Notes on Hebrew Text of the
Book of Genesis. By J. G. Spurrell, M.A. Oxford. 8vo. 1887.
The following were nominated for election at the next
Meeting on January loth, 1888 : —
Dr. M. Gaster, 19, Brondesbury Villas, Kilburn, N.W.
Edward C. Malan, The School House, Sherburne.
Arthur Cayley Headlam, Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford.
The following were submitted for election, having been
nominated on November ist, 1887, and were elected members
of the Society : —
Rev. J. M. Acland, The Clergy House, Kilburn Park Road.
Professor E. Amelineau, 43, Boulevard St. Germain, Paris.
George H. Birch, F.S.A., 2, Devereux Chambers, Devereux Court,
Temple, E.C.
Mrs. Goodison, Coniston Bank, Coniston, nr. Ambleside.
Major-General Sir Francis Grenfell, K.C.B., Sirdar of the Egyp-
tiari Army, Cairo, Egypt.
Professor Henri Hyvernat, Via dell' Anima, 39, Rome.
Professor Albert L. Long, D.D., Robert College, Constantinople.
Rev. Professor Robert W. Rogers, B.A., 621, North 37th Street,
Philadelphia.
Rev. John Urquhart, 8, Coombe Road, Weston-super-Mare.
The Secretary announced that he had received, too late for
the present meeting, from MM. E. and V. Revillout, a paper
of considerable interest, which would be read in January,
entitled, " Une Prophetic Messianique Assyrienne.
A Paper was read by Dr. Gaster on an Apocalypse of
Moses, which will appear in a future number of the Pro-
ceedings.
80
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
The Secretary read a paper by Prof. E. Am^lineau,
entitled, " Histoire des Deux Filles de I'Empereur Zenon "
(Coptic), which will appear in a future number of the Pro-
ceedings.
The President read and explained the following letter from
Dr. Max Mtiller, " On the Supposed Name of Judah in the
List of Shoshenq."
THE SUPPOSED NAME OF JUDAH IN THE
LIST OF SHOSHENQ.
It is sufficiently known that the Egyptian king Shoshenq*
has left in the temple of Karnak, as a monument of his vic-
torious expedition against the kingdom of Judah in the fifth year
of Rehoboam, not only a symbolical representation of the usua
shape, but also an extremely interesting and scientifically not yet
exhausted list of conquered towns. In this list the earliest Egypto^
logists believed they had found the name of Judah itself in the
sixteenth name —
i u dh ma' l(orr)k
They were rather agreed in the transcription by " Judah-malek,
Judahamalek, Judah-hamalek ; " less in the explanation, which was
either "king" or "kingdom of Judah." t The first translation in-
volved even the opinion that the ornamental figure of a bound
prisoner above it might be an authentic portrait of Rehoboam
himself This opinion seems to be fortunately forgotten, but not
the explanations ; which, although impossible both in Hebrew and
* This name is written without any sign of vowels, which indicates that it
is to be read with the regular pronunciation of Egyptian quadriliteral substantives
6 — e : Shoshenq, which is perfectly confirmed by the Assyrian Shushinqu. The
false pronunciation 2eo-o'y;((s of Manetho shows that the name was entirely out of
use after the Saitic period. The present Biblical form pK'''t^ is corrupted by
the frequent mistake of '' for "I, which was followed by an impossible punctuation
of vowels. We must restore pC'-ICi',
+ Then the name would undoubtedly form the commencement of the whole
list.
81 I 2
Dec 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1SS7.
in the Egyptian language, remain to this day in many popular
works. I do not think that any Egyptologist has taken the pains to
refute them. I find still in Brugsch's "History of Egypt" (German
edition, p. 661) the transcription " Judah-malek," which proves
that the author believes at least the name to be composed with
that of Judah, although he seems to abandon the early opinions
of its signification and to consider it as that of a town. De Rouge
explained it still (Melanges d'Arch., II, 274) " Royaume de Juda."
It must first be confessed tliat if we consider the end of
the name as the root "TJ^^, we cannot explain the whole, '^~>}2
being substantive or verb, otherwise than "Judah is king." Such
a name would be very strange for a little town never mentioned
in the Bible. But we can prove that we have not the name of
Judah contained in it at all. There is no trace of the first /i of
this word, which the Assyrians, more than two hundred years
after, heard as "Yahudah." Why should the Egyptians suppress
it, although they had two different kinds of // ?
Then we cannot consider the rD as the feminine termination.
It is true this form is found already in the inscription of king
Mesha, but never in Egyptian, where the -af is commonly kept
as f\l\ ^<i or ci^K fu, and in only few cases the Tl-v expressed by
[1 V\ ^« (= i^^r)' ^^0''^ rarely by ^R\ (I [I ai {= i — ). The form
da is the more usual also in the list of Shoshenq.
Moreover, we cannot even keep the ?/, considering the usual
syllabic writing of Semitic names. This principle of Amting dis-
appears gradually after the XXth Dynasty, and is already here not
perfectly followed out, for '^T'P would be written ^_ f, ^^ ^ — ^ _^
md-lu-ka, but as the a after / m is a mere determinative,
we must suppress also the _^ u after LjLJ / in transcription. t
* Papyrus Anast. 3, 6, verso S ^ |, ^ (] l] [Jv] 6°«2«'. ^Tl?.
t Champollion already in his hicroglyphical alphabet declared [jll^zMnot
to be different from (10?. I think this use derives from the analogy of the
plural termination [1 [1 y^ -in, turned into simple i after many substantives
in the New Egyptian period. Afterwards, it seems to denote especially the
long /. Also the usual Demotic sign of i is derived from (|[l ^, not from
(E W, etc.
82
Dec. 6] TROCEEDINGS. [1SS7.
The true designing of the name appears from the consequent
transcription, 'TjT'T^m^- The soft h must be followed by a vowel,
therefore it is most probably the article, and the whole name must
denote "hand of the king," TjTTari'T.
Such a name, mentioning (by the article) a certain king, would
best square with a fortress built by a Canaanitish or Hebrew king.
I must leave it to the fancy of the reader whether he will like to
suppose a Canaanitish king, or Solomon (i Kings ix, ig; 2 Chron.
viii, 6) or Rehoboam (2 Chron. xi, 5) as founder of this (certainly
very small) fortified town.
What I hope to have demonstrated is only that we have here
no mention of the name "Yehudah, Judah."
NiJRNBERG, August, 1887.
Remarks by P. le Page Renouf {President).
It may not be out of place to add a few observations to the
preceding communication from a very promising young scholar.
Champollion understood the hieroglyphic name on the monument
at Karnak as signifying " Kingdom of Judah." His brother,
M. Champollion Figeac, describes the Egyptian king as dragging
before the gods of Thebes "the chiefs of more than thirty con-
quered nations, among which there figures very distinctly Joiida-
havialek, the kingdom of Judah or the Jews persottified. This
figure of the kingdom of Judah," he goes on to say,* " may be
considered as a type of the Jewish people of the loth century
before the Christian era, and perhaps as a portrait of Rehoboam
himself." Rosellini,t who at first approved of this interpretation,
was led by philological scruples into another equally untenable.
" L'aspirazione hori e un necessario complemento della prima
vocQ. Jeudah, e non appartiene alia seconda parola, la quale, ridotta
alia pronunzia hamalek o amalck, non ha senso in ebraico, e molto
meno in egiziano, Leggo adunque iC^^^^-JLt-eAK, che e precisa-
mente I'ebraico niin'^"l'T^?3' Melek-Jeudah, re di Giuda." Lepsius
in his Letters from Egypt^\ published in 1852, reverts to Cham-
poUion's first interpretation. "Among the names of the prisoners,"
* Egypte Ancienne, p. 151. t Afonumenti Storici, iv, p. 158.
X Page 275.
83
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1887.
he says, "befindet sich einer, den man nicht ohne Grund fiir
eine Bezeichnung des Reiches Juda halt."
Six years later the condition of Egyptian philology had greatly
improved, and Brugsch, in his Geography,* gave the death-blow
to these interpretations, for which, as he says, there is not the
slightest plausibility. Why should the "Kingdom of Juda" hold
an undistinguished place in a list of towns, some of them belonging
to the kingdom of Judah and others to the kingdom of Israel ?
In the next place, Judahmalek cannot possibly mean either ' King '
or ' Kingdom ' of Judah. Where has one ever seen an instance,
either in Hebrew or Egyptian, of a genitive placed before a nomina-
tive ? We have surely here only the name of a town like all the
others on the list, the name of it being '■'■ Judh-malk."
Brugsch still recognised Judah as the first constituent of the
name. He did not overlook the objection that the first h of
Jehudah is missing, but did not attach sufficient importance to
it. The objection, as Herr Miiller justly thinks, is absolutely
fatal. The first h is so essential a part of the name that it is
never omitted in Assyrian, Syriac, or Arabic, and it is only omitted
in Greek (from which we have borrowed our forms) because there
is nothing in Greek corresponding to h when that letter occurs
elsewhere than at the beginning of a word.
So far then Herr Miiller's main contention is unassailable.
I believe that the interpretation which he puts upon the Egyptian
form of the name is equally sound, though it may at first sight
present some difticulty. Why, it may be asked, should "Xl be
transcribed \W cz^^j iid, and why should □ <r, which often
answers to the Hebrew y, be introduced into the transcription of
Ty^P ? What does Herr Miiller mean by saying that "as the a
after m is a mere determinative, we must suppress also the _p u
after l|(| /in transcription?"
The answer lies in "the usual Egyptian way of writing Semitic
names." Dr. Hincks was the first scholar who paid attention to
this subject. He noticed the fact that in their transcriptions the
Egyptians employed a larger number of vowel letters than the
Hebrews, so much so, that a Hebrew word of one syllable would be
expressed in hieroglyphics by a word of two or three syllables, and
a Hebrew noun of three syllables by a word of five syllables. Some
* Gcographische Iiisc/irifli-ii, II, 62.
84
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
of the Egyptian vowel letters therefore were not to be sounded,
and he observed that each of these letters appeared regularly to be
the concomitant of a certain consonant. The theory which he
built upon these observations he enunciated as follows : " The
phonoglyphs which compose the proper Egyptian alphabet had
names which consisted of themselves with the addition of certain
expletive characters ; " and these names might be, and often were,
used in place of certain phonoglyphs. If then a phonoglyph
belonging to the alphabet be followed by the expletive character
which appertains to it, that expletive may be, and for the most part
should be, altogether neglected*
This theory was unfortunately applied by its author to native
Egyptian words as well as to transcriptions of Semitic words. It was
modified by Brugsch, and still more by the late M. de Rouge. The
rule laid down by the last named scholar with reference to the
vowels is as follows :t " Les voyelles vagues, employees comme
lettres de prolongation ou comme mater lectionis, n'etaient pas en
usage dans I'ancien systeme semitique .... les Egyptiens les
employaient au contraire, et souvent a profusion ; les formes
semitiques des mots transcrits prouvent qu'il faut alors leur re-
connaitre un vague absolu, et qu'elles correspondent aussi bien au
simple scheva ou e muet qu'aux autres sons voyelles."
This peculiar method of transcription has led more than one
Egyptologist astray in his theorizing, but the facts are not to be
denied. And as the Hebrew Q'' 'the sea' is hieroglyphically
written [I [j ^ -%y] ^^^^^ , %:> being what Dr. Hincks called the
subsidiary letter to [| [| , there is no reason why 1| i| _p <r"=> should
not stand for "j'l .
What would be the meaning of Tjb^^rn^ , ' King's hand,' as the
name of a place ? A reference to the Lexicon will show that T^ has
a good many metaphorical senses. Besides those of possession,
power, strength, and the like, it frequently is used with local accepta-
tions : coast, place, memorial, waymark, &c. There can therefore
be no objection to its occurrence in a proper name, even though
we may not be able to point out its actual occurrence anywhere.
* " On the Number, Names, and Powers of the Letters of the Hieroglyphic
Alphabet," p. 10.
t Rev. Archiologique, 1861, p. 353.
85
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1887.
The monument which Absalom reared up for himself in the
King's Dale, and which to this day is called ' Absalom's Place,'
D"i7IZ?2^5 l"^,* may perhaps have obtained its name from causes
which do not apply to the name of a town. Dr. Paul Schroeder
in his Phoenician Grammar explains the name of Idalion, as
I ^^1"', ' God's Hand,' and compares with it the Biblical name
Idalah n/t^"T^-t The Phoenician inscriptions, however, found
in Cyprus since the publication of Dr. Schroeder's book regularly
give ~'^"7^^ as the native name of Idalium.
The Fourth Tablet of the Creation Series.
Dear Mr. Rylands,
In the year 1883, at the November meeting of our Society,
I read a paper on a fragment of the fourth tablet of the Creation
series which Mr. Rassam had brought home from Abu-Habbah
the year before. This tablet fragment is inscribed in Babylonian
with a description of the fight between Marduk and Tiamat, and
forms a valuable addition to our knowledge of the contents of
the fourth tablet of the Creation series, parts of which have been
published by the late George Smith in Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,
Vol. IV, Part 2, and by Delitzsch in his Assyrische Lesestikke. In
my paper I pointed out the metrical nature of the composition,
and drew attention to the importance of the document to all
interested in the comparative mythology and religious works of
the Semitic race.
I have delayed the publication of the Babylonian text until
now, hoping that I might be able to satisfactorily explain the
difficulties which occur in it ; but as I am very little nearer to
this much to be desired end than I was four years ago, I venture
to publish a text which will be of the greatest interest to scholars,
at the same time referring the general reader to the English version
of it made from my copy by the Rev. A. H. Sayce, and pubUshed
by him in the Hibbert Lectures for 1887, pp. 379-584.
Yours, etc., E. A. Wallis Budge.
* 2 Sam. xviii, 18. f Jos. xix, 15.
86
Proceedings Soc, Bibl. Atck., December, 1887.
THE FOURTH TABLET OF THE CREATION SERIES.
82-9-18, 3737. 4|in. X 3^ in.
Obverse.
X
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ I? ^ il ^ #1 ^^
^ 1^ ® "^ w t # i 15 2 ^ If ^
■Jf E= lii ?» Jii 1? ^ Itl Su iii "J^ '^*^ ^ f
lui ^ + + I?^ ^ iJl .f 1(f
li£t » » ft .i- ' ^
n 1^ -^ it >«f^ T ;^ ni ^ K ^
lu ^ ^ JlijfA iUA a, g Jjn , mi A ^ li
-AV ^^ Ju ^ ^ .- -fc' ^ ^ A ^* ^ V ^
iUi iU| M ^ T 'i^ n k^i i^A |u ->: >- T n
o
K
Proceedings Soc. Bibl. Arch., December, \\
THE FOURTH TABLET OF THE CREATION SERIES.
52-9-18, 3737. 4| in. X zi m.
Obverse.
If
in
ik\
kkk
n
kkk
Ai
A
T
A
X
>ki.
n
A
n
AA
AA
A
A
^^lul^iul^iul^iui'^
it mi hu
AAI
aaA
B ^
A
AA
AA
w
I'
11
AAI
AAi
Pi
If
111
IT
1>
4-
A
A
AA
AA .
rl u
AA
A
11
I
N^
^
Ol-
4-
n
A
^
1^
A
^
> n
M AAI
_ aaA
-^f AAA
K i^ M
Pi ^ K
I^A ^ jH
AAA
u
AAI *
aaA
n '
U
iU
14-
T
A
11
*kk
AA
15 if
4-
>->-
>->-
A
«
4-
IaT ^
A
^—
<r ^^
^
II ^
^
^
AAI
kkk
t r
m
Jl
^
\\i
^
X
^ '''^
AA
iV ^
^
^ •
^
A ^^
AAA
Sff '"'
> —
»-t
^11^
*v~
II ""
^ AAA
a ^ ^ iji -^
ij ^
O
Proceedings Soc, Bibl, Arch., December, iJ
THE FOURTH TABLET OF THE CREATION SERIES.
52-9-18, 3737. 4| in. X 3i in.
Obverse.
5^ '^ 15
►-»" t4 »—
^ '^ l!
{ji fit s
m
#
I
1
I
AAA
m f V
1> ^ I^
® in 2
2 3 ^
K 5i: iJ^i
"^•^
o
n
®
i>
AA
II
II
^11^ K iU
AA *
¥ A*^ ¥
IaaI Ilil K
^ AAAA iUA
?
i^A
III
iiA
i^ n ^
M
^
AA
m
't AA
4-
I
I
<<-- al TIB" "^
?^ ri A^ A
r^
Ju
^ a
AAA y
J- ^
'aT
aA
I
iAii
^^ T K
^ ^ ^M
iii Hi fi
n
AAA
II
111 rf
AA
II
II
AAA 5^
AAA >{-
I
III
nil **
I
a
Hr
I
iTa
aT
AAA
i-
^A 11
Xi Xi
^ A
n
^ n
iAAji
II
II
AA
I
II
II
^ m
m m
ft M
ft 18
I ri
AAA
i-A >^ w
II
II
III
lli
II
II
m
If
i
I
II
I
I
K 2
Proceedings Soc. Bihl. Arch., December, 18S7.
THE FOURTH TABLET OF THE CREATION SERIES.
82-9-iS, 3737.
4t in. X i\ in.
Reverse.
P
m
i
i
&^
1
i
s
-2C
\1^
S
i
s
Y
iA
8
i
A
11
^ f
</
^
He
Ai
>^
II
IT
T
i
if
Uil
If
^
» 4-
ii
Proceedings Soc. Bibl. Arch., December, i{
THE FOURTH TABLET OF THE CREATION SERIES.
[2-9-1!
3737- 4| in. x 3^ in.
Reverse.
f
t^ Ail
f
^
T AA
n ^
"H" AA
IT
iii
AA
AA
A
AAI
N^
^ Ml
f
It
lA ^
A^A ^
AAI
aaI
li
1v
iTa
11
AAA i? ^ Iaa
i 5= Tr ?2"
^ ^i ^ &
UA >->-
ii
1h
^ —
AA
AAA
r
^
^
^
•^
^
^
AAAA
HI
4-
AAI
aaA
AA
AA
AAA
f
^Y^
^
A
^ in
AA^A Hi
AAA
AAI ^
aaA a
K ^ g
AAAA
A
AA
M
AAi
Ju
JL
AA
AA
AA
if r
n
'Z A
AAA J^
AAA ^
S ¥
AAil
IlA ^
4- =^
ii-^A
AiA n
AaTa
iTa
n
AA
AA
A
AAA
JiTA
Ji-
ll
Proceedings Soc. Bibl. Arch.., December, 1887.
THE FOURTH TABLET OF THE CREATION SERIES.
82-9-18, 3737.
Reverse,
4f in- X si in-
i
if
li
Pi
lAA
iUA
iii
4
n
ii
1>
A
I
1 u"
ii
Ai
AA
AA
I
If
A
m
iUi
4I
^ "^
^
^
A^A
r? ^
^!^
A
luA
AA
AA
AAA
1>
A^A ^
^lAA
if
A
Iau
AA
AA
AA
5J^
Iaa
1^
A
If
4-
A
11
AjAA
A
A
A
A
AAA
AAA!
Ti
A
Pa
o
X
o
ij
o
U
* </
|AA
1t>
AAAA
AAA
I? iiA
-- Ju
AAA AA
AA
IX
A A
AAAA
1^
JIA .^
^
A
4i
^
>->-
AA
tt
iU
N^
Ju
V^
AA
rf
iii
>
-/ai,
II
A
AAl
aaI
A
A
^
^
^•
AAA
if
A
AAA
^ i?
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
The following Communication has been received from
the Rev. C. J. Ball :—
INSCRIPTIONS OF NEBUCHADREZZAR 11.
I. The India House Inscription.
The authentic personal records of the king who built Babylon
and razed Jerusalem must always possess a high degree of interest
both for students of the history of Israel, and for students of that
larger history in the nexus of which the history of the Chosen People
constitutes but a single though a leading strand. I have therefore
thought that a revised text and a new translation of the Standard
Inscription of Nebuchadrezzar might prove not unacceptable to
many of the members of our Society ; and I propose to lay before
them from time to time other records of the same monarch preserved
in the British Museum and elsewhere.
As regards the present inscription, I am acquainted with the
labours of M^nant, Rodwell, and Flemming. I had substantially
completed my own text and version, before, through the kindness of
Mr. T. G. Pinches, I obtained a copy of the work of the last-named
scholar. It proved an invaluable help in revising my own. How
far I have succeeded in carrying further the elucidation of what is, in
certain passages, a most difficult text, must be left to others to decide.
A careful comparison of the published lithographs with the stone
itself has enabled me in several instances to correct the received
readings (see notes on, i, 50 ; ii, 55 ; iii, 46 ; v, 18, 30 ; vi, 13, 22,
32; vii, 4, 12, 15, 36; ix, 60); and repeated examination of the
syllabaries and related documents has furnished me with solutions,
more or less probable, of some of the linguistic puzzles of the text.
In the study of the unfamiliar Babylonian script, I have found
Mr. Pinches' sign-list most serviceable ; and I have also had the
advantage of consulting him personally on one or two occasions. It
is much to be regretted that he has not yet given to the world the
remainder of his conspectus of the Assyrian verb. It would be
more useful to students than a hundred transcriptions and trans-
lations of the ordinary type.
I cannot conclude without saying that it is to my dear friend and
former college tutor, Prof A. H. Sayce, that I owe my first interest
in Assyro-Babylonian studies ; and that, but for his kindly encourage-
87 L
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1887.
ment and freely accorded help in past years, I might never have
ventured thus far into what is still the obscure field of cuneiform
decipherment and interpretation.
Column I.
Transcription.
Translation,
I ilu Nabiu^-ku-dur-ri-u-^u-ur
sar Babili
ru-ba-a na-a-da'"
mi-gi-ir ilu Marduk
5 issakku ^i-i-ri
na-ra-am ilu Na-bi-u"'
mu-us-ta-la"" a-hi-iz ni-me-qi
sa a-lak-ti i-lu-ti-su-nu
is-te-ni-'-u
10 bi-it-lu-hu bi-e-lu-ut-su-un
sakkanakku la-a ne-ha .
sa a-na zi-in-na-a-ti
E-SAG-ILLA u E-ZI-DA
u-mi-sa-am ti-is-mu-ru-ma
15 da-am-ga-a-ti Babili
u Bar-zi-pa
is-te-ni-'-u ka-a-a-nam
e-irn-ga mu-ut-ni-en-nu-u
za-nin E-SAG-ILLA u
E-ZI-DA
20 ablu a-sa-ri-du
sa ilu Nabiu"'-pal-u-9u-ur
sar Babili a-na-ku
is-tu ib-na-an-ni belu ilu-u-a
ilu Marduk ib-si-mu
25 na-ab-ni-ti i-na um-mu
e-nu-ma al-da-ku
. ab-ba-nu-u a-na-ku
as-ra-a-ti ili as-te-ni-e
a-la-ak-ti ili er-te-ni-id-di
30 sa ihi Marduk beli irabi ili
ba-ni-ia
Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon,
the prince exalted,
the favourite of Merodach,
the po fit iff supreme,
the darling of Nebo,
the mild, the possessor of 7c>isdom,
who the way of their godhead
seeketh after,
{who) hath feared their lordship ;
the tmler U7iresting,
who for the maintenance
of Esagilla attd JEzida
daily is careful, a?id
the 7vcal of Babylon
a7id Borsippa
seeketh after steadfastly ;
the wise, the pious,
the maintaincr of Esagilla and
Ezida,
the princely son
of Nabopalassar,
king of Babylon, am I.
After that the lord my god had
fashioned fne,
thai Mcrodach had laid
the child in the mother ;
when I am born,
when I was fashioned,
the places of the god I seek unto,
the way of the god I follow.
Of Mcrodach, the great lord, the
god my maker,
88
Dec. 6]
TROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
e-ip-se-tu-su na-ak-la-a-ti
e-li-is at-ta-na-a-du
sa ilu Nabiu'" a-bi-il-su
ki-i-ni'"
na-ra-am sar-ru-ti-ia
35 a-lak-ti i-lu-ti-su ^ir-ti
ki-ni-is us-te-ni-e-du
i-na gi-mir libbi-ia ki-i-ni™
a-ra-mu bu-luh-ti i-lu-ti-su-nu
pi-it-lu-ha-ak be-lu-ut-su-un
40 i-nu-um///<r Marduk belu rabu
ri-e-si sar-ru-ti-ia ul-lu-ma
be-lu-ti kissat ni-si i-ki-pa-an-
nim
ilii Nabiu™ pa-ki-id kissat
same u irgiti
a-na su-te-su-ur ni-si
45 i^u hatta i-sa-ar-ti
u-sa-at-mi-ih ga-tu-u-a
ia-ti sa-a-su-nu ba-la-ak
as-te-ni-'-a i-lu-ut-su-un
a-na zi-ki-ir su-mi-su-nu kaliti
50 pi-it-lu-ha-ak ila u ilu istarita
a-na //// Marduk beli-ia
ut-ni-en
su-pi-e-su ag-ba-at-ma
a-ma-at libbi is-te-'-u
sa-a-su aq-bi-is
55 ul-la-nu rubu bel mi-na-a
ba-si-ma
a-na sarri sa ta-ra-am-mu-ma
ta-na-am-bu-u zi-ki-ir-su
sa e-li-ka ta-a-bu
tu-us-te-es-se-ir su-uni-su
60 ha-ra-na i-sar-ta'" ta-pa-qid-su
a-na-ku ru-bu-u ma-gi-ra-ka
bi-nu-ti ga-li-ka
his aifmiiig works
highly do I extol.
Of Neb 0, his true son,
the darling of my majesty,
the way of his supreme godhead
steadfastly do I exalt ;
with all ffiy true h art
I love the fear of their godhead,
I fear their lordship.
JVhen Merodaeh, the great lord,
lifted up the head of my mafsty
and
with lordship over the multitude of
the people invested me, and
Nebo, the overseer of the multitude
of heaven and earth,
for the govei'ftitig of the people
a sceptre of righteousness
placed in my hand ;
for me, of them I stand iti azve,
I seek unto their godhead
for the invocation of their great
jiame ;
I fear god and goddess.
To Merodaeh my lord I made
suppplication,
prayers to him I undertook, and
the word 7vhich my heart found
(lit. sought out)
to him I spake it :
"■ Of old, O prince, lord of all
that is I
to the king whom thou lovest, and
whose name thou proclaimrst,
that to thee is pleasing ;
thou nmkest his name supreme,
a straight path thou appointest him,
I am a prifice, thy subject,
the creature of thy hand ;
89 L 2
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [18S7.
at-ta ta-ba-na-an-ni-ma tJiou it is that makest me, and
sar-ru-ti ki-is-sa-at ni-si with sovereignty over the multitude
of the people
65 ta-ki-pa-an-ni dost invest me ;
ki-ma du-um-ku-ka be-lu according to thy goodness, O Lord,
sa tu-us-te-ib-hi-ru luhereivith thou croionest
gi-mi-ir-su-un all of the?n.
be-lu-ut-ka ^ir-ti su-ri-'-im-am- Thy lordship supreme do thou
ma make loving, atid
70 bu-lu-uh-ti i-lu-ti-ka the fear of thy godhead
su-ub-sa-a i-na libbi-ia cause thou to be in my heart !
su-ur-ham-ma sa e-li-ka ta-a-bu Yea, strengthen him that to thee
is pleasing,
Notes to Column I.
2. Bdbili : written ka-dimmer-ra-ki ; 4, 47, ka-dimmer-ki ; 4, 28,
Ba-bi-ili ; 4, 70, tin-tir-ki, "place of the Wood of Life:" 4 R. 18, No. 2,
10 sq., Ba-bi-lu.
3. Cy] 4 R. 12, 10 : ru-bu-u mu-tib lib-bi D. En. lil u D. Nin-lil na-'-du, "The
prince that pleaseth the heart of Bel and Beltis, the exalted." ludii, ptcp. I, i =
nffidii, est. St. ncVid.
4. est. St. of migru ; R. magdru ; cf. Ileb. IJJ^ projecit, tradidit ; Ez. xxi,
17 ; Ps. Ixxxix, 45 ; Syr. • .^. intrans. cecidit. In Assyro-Bab. the root means
" to incline to, hearken to, obey, favour." La nidgiri, " unyielding," "disobedient,"
is frequent expression : II, 25 i)ifra ; Tigl. II, 69, etc. It is a syn. of semii,
"to hear," 5 R. 39, 24 ge-ga = se-niu-u ; ibid. 33 se-ga = ma-ga-ru"'. The Heb.
uses of nt^j are parallel.
5. isSakku = PA-TE-SI, an ideogram. See i R. 51, i, i, 3, is-sa-ak-ku 9i-i-ri
na-ra-am ilu Na-bi-u™, a duplicate of this passage ; 4 R. 12, 36 sq. nam lu
GlsGAL-LU = is-sak-ku. 4 R. 21, No. 2 Rev. USI-GAL = belu"' issakku. (In the
previous line ^irhu is the Talmudic K2?1 Nn"l''V» "disquietude of heart:"
Gitt. 69 b.)
6. naramu = *narhamu ; R. rdmu, " to love," "pity;" DPI,"!.
7. muStala"', ptcp. II, 2 of Salu = Ar. , I ,^^. Ill and V, "to be easy
or gentle with a man." 4 R. 26, 30, 31, sa-mu-un Sa-kussa = be-lu'" mu5-la-lu"' ;
4 R. 7, 12, 13, nana-a-ni ga-ku5sa = Is-tar-5u mus-tal-tu". Accad. Ka = libbu ;
kus = nahu, ni3 ; 4 R- 21, No. 2, 31 obv. ; 2 R. 48, 5, a, b.
nimequ, "depth," as we say, "a deep fellow." R. pJOy, which is so used
in Heb., Ps. xcii, 5 ; cf. Rom. xi, 33. 5 R. 30, 48 a. b. ZU = ni-me-(iu.
8. alaldi : "way" = Deum colendi ratio, relligio, as in Ileb. ^"l."^. Amos viii,
14 ; cf. Acts xix, 9-23. For alakiti, " way," " path," see 4 R. 31, obv. 6 : a-na
har-ra-ni 5a a-lak-ta-.^a la ta-a-a-rat, " to the road whose path rcturneth not."
90
Dec. 6J PROCEEDINGS. [1SS7.
9. isteni'u : I, 3 pres. of se'u, nytJ*, "to seek," "look round for..."; Ka.
xvii, 7; xli, 10; written se-e-u | ba-a-u, 2 R. 35, 27 e. f. ; si-te-'-u, Inf. I, 2,
synonym of pa-a-ru™ and bu-'-u, 2 R. 36, 46-48 /. (See "Lotz," p. 135).
AStene, 1. 28, is i pers. of the same form, without the Relative-ending -11 ;
astejiPa, 1. 48, corresponds to the Heb. cohortative form. 4 R. 10, 59 obv.
astani'e-ma manman gati ul ijabat, " I look round (for help), and no man taketh
my hand."
10. bitluhu : pf. I, 2 of palahu. The I pers. occurs, II. 39-50 iufr. (The
final -u is characteristic of a verb in a Relative sentence.)
11. la niha : cf. 2 1^. 16, 31 b. c. NIR-MU NU-KUs-sA la-a ni-ha se-pa-a-a,
"my feet are unresting." (See on 1. 7 siipr.) 2 R. 48, 8, a. b. nu-kus-sa = la-a
ni-hu [ibid., 5 ku-u§ = na-a-hu).
12. zinndti, fern. pi. R. zananu, "to feed," "support": 5 R. 40, 5, e. f.
U-A = ri-tu'° u mas-ki-tu"" ("food and drink"); U-A = za-ni-nu (Pinches), cf.
Sarg. Cyl. 39, 47. But Arab, '^-^^j 7 "ornament," seems a better comparison
for zinndti : see on 2, 42 ; 3, il.
13. See 4 R. 20, No. 3, 2, 3 : du e-sag-il-la, a-bil e-sag-il.
14. tisniur, tiphel of samaru = Heb. "I^K'^ umisam (an adv. like arljisam,
"monthly," sattisam, "yearly"). Flemming :. ti9muru = §itmuru, from ^amaru,
" to think." (Is it not rather a tiphel form, than a transposition ?)
15. damqati, pi. of damiqtu, fern, of damqu, "bright," "pure," "good,"
"lucky;" R. damaqu, "to be clear."
16. Sum. Bada-si-abba : 2 R. 20, No. 3, 10, 1 1 : uruzu bada-si-ab-ba-ki uru
numundadi = itti alika barsib /'z alu ul issannan, " with thy city Borsippa no city
may vie."
17. Cf. Ph. Cyl. Ill, 6, as-te-ni-'-a ka-a-a-nam. Ka\ina™, " firm," "stead-
fast ;" a secondary predicate.
18. emqa, R. pjoy (1. 7) 2 R. 16, 64/^.- um-ma-na im-qa, "profound art";
5 R. 13, 37, a. b. imqu as syn. of mudu, ippisu, hassu.
niutnennu, ptcp. II, 3 of hiii = Hjy (*mu'tananniyu). But utnin (1. 51)
rather suggests R. pn, ptcp. II, 2 (*muhtanninu : utnin = *uhtannin).
20. asaridn, dux, pritses. Probably a Quadril. from aSdru = ^'D''.
23. istu — ttltu, "from;" scil. ^a = X"XP. ; Ti<l? Ex. v, 23. ilu : text DINGIR-
IR, i.e., dingir, with a phonetic complement.
24. baSdmu : schaffen, stellen, legen, setzen : see Lyon, Sargon, St. 78 ; and the
Creation, Fragment K. 3567, ubassim manzaza . . . ilanirabuti, " He set the station
of the great gods." 2 R. 36, c. d. as syn. of u-du-u, "to cast," "lay."
26. hitima. Cf. the well-known " enuma elis la nabu samamu " of the First
Tab. of the Creation Series; and for the mg., Lotz, Tigl. VIII, 52 {zur Zeit
da or dass). 4 R. 2 col. V, 42, as-sa-tu ul ih-zu ma-ru al-du su-nu, "wife they
take not, child they beget not, they!" aldaku Perf. I, I of alddii (l?') used
iiii)-ans.
91
Dec. 6] SOCIEIY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1887.
27. ahhanu. Impf. IV, I oi baui'i, (i) to build, (2) to create and procreate.
28. aSni/i, pi. ofasru, asar, " place j " K"l^l^{ "inx X"Sl
29. ertcniddi =■ *artanaddl, with vowel-assimilation ; pres. I, 3 of radu,
Syr. 1)5 ivit, iter fecit, 2, 23 ertiddi, Ifteal (I, 2) pres. (7: 3 R. 5, 6, 53,
arkisu artedi, "after him I went," pursued him. I, i impf. ardi-suniiti, "I
pursued them," Tigl., 4, lOO. Another ra(/«, mg., "to spread," " sp over"
(in III, I, usardi, Tigl. i, So; 2, 16, etc.) may be compared with -^i.>i> " ^"3
widen a tent," "to spread a thing on the ground ;" while radu, " to add," may
be akin to \^ ..
31. ipSitit, pi. of ipistii, "work ;" R., epiSu, "to do," "make;" which may
perhaps be akin to DSX a syn. of Dttn. 11 ?3, "ID3, Isa. xvi, 4; Ps. ixxvii,
9, and so would str. mean "to finish," "complete." IpSttu for *ipsatu, by vowel
assimilation. Nakldti, fem. pi. of nakhi, callidus ; cf. Num. xxv, 18, Dnv33
1^D3 X*'X- Niklaii, "arts." Sarg. Cyl., 47.
32. eliS, a common adv., meaning "above," opp. to SapliS, "below."- affa-
nadu ; an Ittaphal form of nadu (1. 3). Ustcnedu (1. 36) is Istafal (III, 2) pres.
of the same verb.
37. ,^/w?>, St. est. q{ gimrii,^?, »i7gir (1. 4), of w/i,'-;-« and zikir[\. 49), o{ zikru
Giiiiru is " summa," from gamdrit (II, l) "consummare ;" "10 J , Ileb. and Aram.
(Tigl. 6, 57).
38. anh/nt, for *arhamu, from ?-iu;iie (1. 6 supr.) ; I, I pres. Cf. faramwu
2 pers. (1. 56).
40. iniini^hiihna. So, apparently, Rodwell : " whereas " (rather, "when ").
Cf. Bors. I, 27, i-nu-mi-5u = ina limiSuma, "at that time:" Nerigl. 2, 15.
Phillipps Cyl. 3, 27, i-nu-su, in a duplicate of the same line {mi being omitted by
a scribe's error?). Senk. i, 7, i-nu = i-nu"> here. Inu"' {enu) "time," is "^j^r^
or perhaps S}\ , i^\\i " time," " season." I owe the suggestion that the sign
Jjt: in all these places should be read with the value z, to Mr. S. A. Smith,
editor of Assurbattipal. See 2 R. 39, No. 4, 51 : ^yy (j:^) >-^T. With inn^ or
inn supply Sa, and cf. Lev. vii, 35 : DOX 3''"lpn DV2.
41. tdlh't : Impf. II, I of elu = i^j{ (H/y)- O^- itlld, 11.
42. itjipauii!"^ : Impf. II, I of. i/dpu, ^)p ; cf. Sarg. Cyl. 33, ij^pu (ideogr.
^^^ ""I^L "►"II ; s^s 3 ^^- 5> 33) "city-governor," "burgomaster." Fleming
renders " anvertrauen " from the context ; Lyon, (Sarg.), " einsctzen " (suquppe,
Inf. III. i). I have rendered " invest " with reference to the Heb. f]"|p, implied in
nSlpI^ ; cf. ^''ipi? (Cip3) Lam. iii, 5 ; Job. xix, 6 ; and the use of "itDy, Ps. v, 13 ;
viii, 6. The verb recurs 1. 65 ; 9, 51.
44. SuteSur: Inf. Ill, 2 of aSdru : Ileb.X^J Ilif. Ps. v, 9; Is. xlv, 2;
X'S Isa. iii, 12; ix, 15, duxit. 4 R. 29, No. 5, 48 obv. ela kati ilim muSteSeru
ul iSi, " besides the hand of God, a guide he hath not."
45. Lit. "made my hand hold;" Tigl. 2, 98, Ai5ur kakka danna . . . qati
uSatmehu ; 6, 2, tamih hatta la sanan, "holding an unequalled sceptre." Taiiidhu
appears to be peculiar to Assyro-Babylonian. IjOri may be a cognate form.
92
I^Ec. 6] PROCEEDINGS.
[18S7.
47. hdlak, Pf. I, I of /w/« = IIcb. and Aram. '?n2. With the termination, cf,
that of the Eth. ^{.—ku.
50. Flemming: ildni ulstarati, "ich verchre Gotterimd Gottinnen." But why
phir. ? The ideogram vJgH is not correctly given in I R. As regards its
vakie, it is probably equivalent to the usual ideogram of Istar, which occurs at
5» 47. 55- See also 3, 46, where the form of the sign is again modified.
51. iitnin: II. 2 of andtiu — ppl. Or a contracted form of *u'tenin (like
tipteqid). Cf. 9, 46 for the sense. Sanh. Bav. 29 : utnin-ma suppe'a ismu-ma.
Silpe is shown by the context to mean preces. R. nSC' .^J'^ " to pour out," or
VDC^' "to overflow "? Cf. the use of "]QEJ> in Pss. xlii, 4 ; Ixii, 9 ; cxlii, 3.
53. (7W(?/; St. constr. before the Relative Sentence. Istehii : impf. I, 2 of
ic'ii, " to seek ;" with — « Relat.
54. rti/^/^ = aqbi-su, " I spake to him."
55. itlldmi: (?) " Most High" ; but f. 4 R. 51, 3, 51, ultu ul-la-nu-um-ma iiu
rubatu ina'kaSadi (sa) issi qasati rabati : "when at that (this) time the Great Goddess
on her arrival raised the great bow ;" and ibid. 4, 6. Comp. ullii, 10, 4 ; ultu uUd,
"from old time," Sarg. Cyl._35. The root is not rhv (Schrad.), nor 'is the term
compounded oi ullu and ^\ "time" (Haupt after Halc-vy) ; but ulldnu may
be from ullu, and both be akin to ilpX, |\?N. Jl, J,^. When used of
time, ullu, " that," may refer either to past or future ; cf. the use of TXi D?ij?,
in Heb., and olim (from olle, i.lle) in Lat. If the term were restricted to the past,
we might comp. R. PIS " vorne sein " (Noldeke), and Arab. \i,\ "first,"
fem. I \ (with long u). KU = rubu, 5 R. 13, 44, a. b.
nifnd "what," "whatever:" 4 R. 22, 55 mi-na-a ebus amilu suatu ul idi ina
mi-ni-i ipassah, " what hath that man done ? he knoweth not with what he may
recover ease." ba&i, ptcp. of baSi), as a collective ; with ma emphatic. (For
mtnd, cf. also 2 R. 56, 16 c. d.)
57. tanambii = tanabbii = pres. I, I o{ nabu.
58. Cf Heb. construction, i Ch. xiii, 2 ; Esth. i, 19.
62. binAtu : " creation," abstr. for concr.
67. luStibbiru, III, 2 of "liDX, " to cover ;" cf. 1SX i Kings xx, 38, 41 ; aga
^ira tuppiraisu, " with exalted crown ye decked him," Tigl. I, 21. Or the R. may
be ebh-u ("121?) ; " thou lettest pass over" (So Flemming).
69. &icrima-ma : imper. Ill, I of ramu, Qni, "to love;" preCative form,
like Heb. ni'^C^'pH .
71. subsd : imper. HI, i oiba&u. Cf. the infin. subsl, Sarg. Cyl. 52.
72. i.e. Surrihamnia. Otherwise read Burqamma. Surqd-ma : imper. I, I
of Safdqu, the well-known syn. o{ naddnu ; " Grant what to thee is pleasing!"
93
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1887.
Column II.
sa ba-la-ti-ia lu-te-ip-pi-es
su-u a-sa-ri-du ka-ab-tu
SI-GAL ilani rubu ilii
Mar-duk
un-ni-en-ni-ia is-me-e-ma
5 im-hu-ru su-bu-u-a
us-ti-ba-am-ma be-lu-ut-su
gir-ti
bu-lu-uh-ti i-lu-ti-su
u-sa-as-ki-in i-na libbi-ia
a-na sa-da-da si-ir-ti-e-su
10 u-sa-at-ka-an-ni lib-ba
pi-it-lu-ha-ak be-lu-ut-su
i-na tu-ku-ul-ti-su gir-ti
MADA MADA ru-ga-a-ti
sa-di-i™ ni-su-u-ti
15 is-tu ti-a-am-ti e-li-ti
a-di ti-a-am-ti sa-ap-li-ti
ur-hu-u"" as-tu-ti'"
pa-da-ni™ pi-hu-ti
a-sa-ar kib-si su-up-ru-su
20 se-e-pi la i-ba-as-su-u
ha-ra-na"' na-am-ra-9a
u-ru-uh zu-ma-mi
e-ir-te-id-di-e-ma
la ma-gi-ri a-na-ar
25 ak-mi za '-i-ri
MADA us-te-si-ir-ma
ni-si™ us-ta-am-mi-ih
ra-ag-ga u gi-e-ni'"
i-na ni-si u-se-is-si
30 kaspa hura^a ni-si-iq abni
su-ku-ru-ti
e-ra-a icu mis-ma-kan-na ipi
crinu
mi-im-ma su-um-su 5u-ku-ru
tJiOH that VI y life i)ideed dost
make ! "
Himself the leader glorious^
the gracious one of the gods, the
prince, Merodach,
my st{pplicatio7is heard and
received my prayer.
Yea, he made gracious his supreme
lordship,
the fear of his godhead
he made to be in my heart ;
to love his latvs
he made me incline the heart ;
I have feared his lordship.
By his supreme aid,
to far-off la fids,
distant hills,
from the Upper Sea
to the Lower Sea,
imrnense journeys,
blocked ways,
a place where the path is broken,
feet {foot-prints ?) are not ;
a road of difficulty,
a journey of straits,
I pursued, and-
the disobedient I reduced,
I fettered the rebels.
The land I ordered, and
the people I made to thrive ;
bad and good
among the people I separated,
sillier, gold, glitter of precious
stones,
bronze, palm-7C'Ood, pine-wood.
wJiat thifig soever' s name is pre-
cious.
94
Dkc. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[iJ
hi-gal ru-us-sa-a
bi-si-ti sa-di-i'"
35 hi-is-bi ta-ma-a-ti'"
ib-ti ka-bi-it-ti
i-gi-sa-a su-um-mu-hu
a-na ali-ia Babili
a-na mah-ri-su u-se-ri-im-ma
40 i-na E-SAG-ILLA
e-kal be-lu-ti-su
as-tak-kan zi-in-na-a-ti
E-KU-A pa-pa-ha
ilu bel ilani ilu Marduk
45 u-sa-an-bi-it sa-as-sa-ni-is
sa-al-la-ru-us-su
hu-ra-gu ru-us-sa-a
ki-ma im-tu-u a-ban (?)
abnu uknu u abnu gis-sir-gal
subat biti u-sa-al-bi-is
50
bab hi-li-bu (?) bab ku-uz-bu
u bab E-ZI-DA E-SAG-ILLA and the gate
Esagilla,
u-se-pis nam-ri-ri ilu Sam-si
a large abundance ;
the produce of ?nou}itams,
the fullness of seas,
a rich present,
a splendid gift,
to my city of Babylon
to his presence I bore ; and
in Esagilla,
the palace of his lordship,
I place them as ornaments.
Ekua, the abode
of the lord of the gods, Merodacli,
I made to glisten ivith white
marbles (?)
the wall thereof ;
with massy gold,
as with Imtu stone,
onyx and alabaster,
the habitatio7i of the house I over-
laid.
The gate Hilibu, the gate Kuzbu,
of Ezida {and)
DU (?) AZAG KI-NAM-
TAR-TAR-E-NE
55 §a UB-SU-UQQI-NA BARA
si-ma-a-ti
sa i-na ZAG-MU-KU ri-es
sa-at-ti
um VIII kan um XI kan
DIMMER LUGAL DIM-
ME-IR ANA KIA MUL-
ANA
i-ra-am-mu-u ki-ri-ib-su
60 ilani su-par (?) same ircitim
pa-al-hi-is u-ta-ak-ku-su
/ had them made brilliant as the
sun.
The August Abode, the place of
them that determine destinies,
which is the Quarter of Assembly,
the shrine of the Fates,
which, at Zagmuku, '■'■the opetiing
of the year,"
on the 8th day {and) the nth day,
the divine king, the god of heaven
{and) earth, the lord of heaven,
entereth into the midst thereof ;
the gods, the assembly of heaven
{and) earth,
with awe obey him,
95
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGV. [18S7.
ka-am-su iz-za-zu mah-ru-us-su submissive they take their stand
before him ;
si-ma-at um da-er-u-ti™ a destiny of enduring days,
si-ma-at ba-la-ti-ia as the destiny of my life,
i-si-im-mu i-na ki-ir-bi they predestine in the midst {there-
of):-
Notes to Column II.
I. Sa halatfa: Or, "that which is ;;y ///^," i.e., "what is for my welfare,
mayst thou do ! " Perhaps rather, " (viz.) me whose life thou makest. "
^. §I-GAL or IGI-GAL: if §I = mahru, "in front," and GAL = ba§u, as
might be the case, then SiGAL might mean "he who is in front," "leader."
But SI (IGI) also = inu, " eye," and panu, " face," and GAL = nasii sa kalama,
"lifting of anything;" so that SiGAL may mean D''JQ XCi'J, "favouring,"
"shewing favour to;" Gen. xxxii, 21. (See 2 R. 26, 43, 48, 60. The last
line has SIGAL = nasu sa in, "lifting of the eye" (Pinches). ILI and
GURU are both explained >-^Y ^J fiyyyc: : (jf^ lines 43, 45). The term occurs
as an epithet of Nebo, Sarg. Cyl. 59. Lyon renders, " klarsehend," " weit-
blickend," on the ground of 4 R. 28, 28a, where it is rendered hirit uzfii, and
4 R. 14, 3, 10, where it is rendered pitA herdti, as well as 2 R. /. c. Flemming's
asarid can hardly be right, if only because that word occurs in the preceding
line.
4. tinnetti : from anann, I, 51 : = 2''?"1^Q^. Written un-ni-ni, 4 R. 29, No. 5,
50 Obv.
5. siibiYa: I, 52, supe. 4 R. 18, No. 2, Rev. 32 sq. SAGA-SUBU-BI
= su-up-pi-i5u. The word appears to be of Sumerian origin.
6. ustibd»ia: III, I, impf oitAbu, HID : with emphatic suffix — 7)ia.
9. Sadddu, " to love ;" Flood, 4, 16 (Haupt) ; Tigl. 4, 35, nasaddu, "darling,"
= naramu : 2 R. 25, 20, ab. Su-da-du | ra-i-mu ; i.e., " loving." C/. Heb. iT^Jti';
Eccl. ii, 8. sirfu {not Si rdu : Fl.) : Arab. U _^ "condition," "term," "stipu-
lation," "obligation."
10. ii&aikajDii : impf. Ill, I of takii — takdh, Deut. xxxiii, 3 ; = dakdh.
12. Schrader and others render tukidtu by Vertrauen, Verehrung, Dienst.
14. nisieii : pi. o{ tiis^, "distant:" Tigl. i, 39; etc.
17. Is nrhii^ a plur. in — 11 ? If not, aStilti'^ must be an abstract noun : cf.
11. 14, 18.
18. padani'^ : this term occurs 2 R. 38, 22—30 cd, in a list of synonyms for
" road " or " way," viz. : —
ki-ib-su
pa-da-nu
da-rag-gu
96
har-ra-an
har-ra-nu
har-ra-an
har-ra-an
da-ra-gu
mo-tc-qu
gal-la
har-ra-an
ur-hu
TTT-^
ka-na-gur-ru
. . . ma
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
It will be noticed that the terns for " road "in 17, 18, 19, 21 all occur here.
Cf. also 2 R. 49, 21, cd. ^^ tal-lak.
pihuti: phir. oi piM, from R. pehu = X4n2 "to shut,"<?.^., a door; Flood,
I) 39; 2, 32 ; 3 R. 4, 58 «(/ fill. hdhPa iphi, "she closed my door." See
papahu ; 43 ; 3, 25.
19. kibsu: Targ. XE^'23. Xu'2''2. " way," " path." (See .last note.)
Suprnsii : verbal adj., Shaphel form, from pardsti, like Suquru, 11. 30, 31 ;
SuglnJu, "terrible," Sarg. Cyl. 11 ; Suhruhiii, "desert," ibid., 36. Parasu has
many meanings, but the general sense is clear : cf. Abp. 59, 88, alaktasu aprus,
"I checked his march," or "stopped his way;" ib., 284, 95, Sepisu iprus, "he
checked, hindered his feet ;" kabis kisudi sa nisi mat Hilakki (Esarh. ) ;
and mukabbis kisadi abi-su, "treading on the neck " of enemies (Assurn.) ; na9iru
kibsi musallimu tallakti sarri banisunu, " keeping the path, making whole
the way of the king their maker ;" said of the bulls at the palace gates (Esarh.
iv, 41.)
21. na?m-aca : Unwegsamkeit, Tigl. i, 73; 2, 70, etc. Note Jjdfdim'^^ (nut
harrdna'^, as EL).
22. tiruh cunuhni : Flemming, " einen Weg des Durstes;" but the R. is not
NOV, but DDV ; cf. DCV, "to cover" (Palpel), ^(J^(J^ \ obturavit, operuit,
f^^t "to be deaf," ^, "to draw together," "contract," "compress." The
\ , . \ .
sense is thus "iter angustiarum." If, however, the ambiguous sign be read zii
(its ordinary value), we may compare j^' ■, "to tie," "fasten;" "a trammelled
\ s -i f
way;" and, lastly, perhaps zic/nd»m^ is ^L-c"., " tall herbs ;" so that we might
think of a forest or jungle track.
24. anar : denom. from 7iiru, "yoke ;" subjugari (I, i pres. c,{ ndy-ii).
25. zd^irt : I, I ptcp. of zdru, "111 = Tigl. 8, 32, 41. Aknit : impf. I, I of
kamti, " to bind ; " Tigl. 5, 13, umschliessen, einschliessen, gefangen setzen. Cf.
adv. kamis, and abstr. subst. kamutu ; and also ka?ndtu, " ringwall."
26. uStcSir : impf. Ill, 2 ol asdru : ducere (Isa. iii, 12) = regere. Tigl. i, i,
ptcp. With what is here told, comp. Berosus «/«/(/ Joseph. Ant. x, 11, i.
27. nisim : Flemming renders, " die Leutenahm ich gefangen," which implies
utarnmih for uStammih, or else ustaSmih. Ustammih is II, 2 of samdhn (1. 37),
"to grow," "increase," (gedeihen, sich kraftig entwickeln, Sanh. Kuy. 4, 37 :
Lyon) : f. ',^^^^ ■> " to be lofty " (of a mountain) ; " to exalt or magnify oneself,"
" be proud," etc.
28. Sec Lotz, 86, sqq. ; ^emi is a syn. oi kenu, "right ; " 4 R. 28, 30a. kina tidi
ragga tidi, "the righteous thou knowest, the bad thou knowest ; " Sanh. 5, 82,
sapinat raggi u ceni, " overwhelming bad and good " {i.e., all alike).
29. uSissi : Impf. II, I of Sasii = S?Dt^*, pi. Judg. xiv, 6 ; Matt, xxv, 32. He
' separated ' them as a judge. But uSisst may also be impf. Ill, i = usassi,
" I removed," " deported ; " =* usansi, of R. tiasti, VDJ {cf. nisu, nisuti, 1. 14).
30. nisqu : cf. nisiqtti, 3, 40. The R. nasdqu in Assyro-Babylonian means
"to be bright," "to glitter," or "gleam." Cf. Heb. pb: in Ilif. "to kindle "
Sanherib (Neb. Yun. 72 ; i. R. 44.) calls a certain precious stone sa-su nu-su-qu
97
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1887.
(l. R. 7, E 3 sq. sa-su nu-us-su-qu) ; while in 2. R. 38, 43 sq. b. we read abnu el .sa
5um-su na-as-qu a-na a5-rat ilu Marduk u ilu Zar-pa-ni-tum lu-u ad-di-nu-ma :
" A7-stone, whose name means glittering, to the temples of Merodach and
Zarpanitu I gave." Tigl. 7, 95 has nu-su-qu, directly after kima kakkab same
supu (" like a star of heaven it sparkled "), in describing the Inta ellita (90) or
"shining abode" of Anu and Rimmon, which he built ; and Sanh. Kuy. 4, 16
has nu-us-su-qa parallel to nummuru (Pf. II, i of namaru, "to shine"). See
Lolz, p. 179. 2 R. 67, 28 has hura9u ni-siq-ti abni bi-nu-ut tam-tim, "gold,
glittering stones, product of the sea." I do not think this proves that nisiqli abni
must always be pearls (Haupt). Else, what need was there to qualify the ex-
pression by adding hinfit tamtim 1 And why not amber 1 Suqurilii : the sing,
of this adj. occurs 1. 32. It is a verbal of III, i from R. aqdru "lp\ See I R. 7,
E. 5, where it is spelled correctly with q, and has a variant aq-ru = "Ij^J.
31. viisniakanna : "the tall tree of Makan " (S. Babylonia). Lyon on Sarg.
Cyl. 63. Erini : Heb. ^oren. Is. xliv, 14, rendered ir/rDf by LXX ; Vulg. pinus.
33. higallu^, an Accad. loan-word, and a well-known syn. of nuhSu, duhdu,
and Stiqii ; RiiSSu, cf. 1. 47. See 4 R. 12, 28 sq. guskin rus . . =hu-ra-5a ru-us-sa-a.
From this it appears that ruMil is a loan word ( = " great," as in 9ir-rus, " strong,"
"great serpent"). Cf. also 4 R. 26, No. i, 10 sq. a kit-tu rus-a-an = a-bu-bu
iz-zu, "the strong flood."
34. bisiti : from basii, as Siqitu^ from Saqil, and qibitu from qibf{.
35. ^isbn : "fullness," "overflow," "abundance." Sarg. Cyl. 68; St. 85.
Lyon refers to 2 R. 51 No. i, Obv. 32b and 4 R. 20 No. i, Obv. 22, for the
spelling (in both passages hi-zib-sa). But Phillipps Cyl. 3, 22, we read hi-sab
tamati™. Cf. Arab. 1. ^._^-s^, " abundance of herbage and the like," "increase,"
"plenty ; " or i i'^. . tumuit, pinguis fuit.
36. ibtii: "gift," R. dbu-'2T\\ like biltu "tribute," from abdlu =h:^\ (Fl.).
37. isp'sd : the mg. "present " is evident from Shalm. Obel. 105 sq. : "At that
time of 24 kings of Tabali," i-gi-si-su-nu am-dah-har, " Their presents I received ;"
I R. 32, 37 sq., ma-hir bilta u i-gi-si-i. An Accad. term (Pinches).
39. uSeriw : Impf. Ill, I of ramu = D"l"l ; cf. the phrase murim Ijegalli,
" bringer of abundance " (lifter, bearer, and so bringer).
42. Cf. 8, 24 sq.
43. papahu : for this term see a list of synonyms for " dwelling," 2 R. 34 5b.,
pa-pa-hu ma-as-sa-ku ad-ma-nu (not ah) sub-tu™. It is a reduplicated form from R.
K^nS, apparently meaning " close," " closet," penetrale.
44. Text: DINGIR EN-LIL DINGIR DINGIR DINGIR AMAR-UT.
45. Saxsanii : i R. 52, No. 3, 28 sq. Esagili aznun-ma saSSis uSapa sarurusu :
" Esagili I restored, and like Sa&in I made its splendour to shine forth." I think
Sa.iSdni-S is to SaSSis, as SaJdniS is to SadiS ; i.e., it is an adverbial form of the
plural.
Sallaru: cf. Sallaris, "its wall," Bors. I, 18; Ph. i, 30. Sallaru ="1171"
from "irj', cf. Fiy^T from PjyT. Or comp. "inb and Talm. "inp, "fence or wall" of
a shcepfold " ("in'pp).
98
Dec. 6] TROCEEDINGS. [18S7.
48. imtil: imttt occurs in the sense of ^tD''^i, "terror." Was this stone so
called from its flashing, like Ezekiel's XlliH nipH ?
49. nq!2!i : Accad. ZAGIN, is variously rendered "onyx," "crystal," "lapis
lazuli," "marble," and "alabaster." The Syr. p.O| «;/;/« means lapis Lydius,
"touchstone." 5 R. 29, 43 J(/^/-g.h, za-gi-in uq-nu
^ip-ru do.
Onyx, therefore, seems right: cf. cupni, "finger-nail." 2 R. 51, 13, c. il.
Dapara = the land of zagin stone.
50. UNU E = &uhat btti.
51. See 2 R. 48, 28 a. b, hi-li-bu = ilu ; 5 R. 30, 66 g. h, na hi-li-bu — na
za-gin. ^^Y (NA and ZA)=ab-nu, "stone," 5 R. 29, 19/20, g. h.
53. uamriii: 2 R. 35, 4 — 9, i?.y. , gives the synonyms : id-di-Su-u sa-ru-ru
nam-ri-ir-ru ,,
bir-bir-ru ,,
me-lam-mu ,,
si-bu-bu ,,
sa-ru-ru ni-ip-lju
See Lotz, p. 83 ; R. namdrti, " to shine."
54. An Accadian (Sumerian) line. DU = gubtu, S' 25. KU or AZAG =
ellu, S'' 109 sq. hi-en-azag-ga hi-en-el-Ia hi-en-lah-lah-ga = li-lil li-bi-ib li-im-
mir, 4 R. 14, No. 2 obv. 17 sq. KI = asru, S'' 182. NAMTAR = Simtu.
In Assyrian : Subtu ellitu, asar Simati.
55. uh-su-uqqi-na. 6>^ 2 R. 35, 41. UB = tubqu S'' 309 ; UB-DA IV = kibral
irbitti, 2 R. 35, 40 and 39. UQQI ] '^Jlf^f | | bu-uh-ru, S'' 266. This is the
character on the stone ; I R. has C7-, an error of transcription. The passage
2 R. 35, 38 sqq. runs thus : —
ub-ka-ga tu-bu-qa-tu™ " regions."
ub-da IV ,, ir-bit-ti " the four regions."
ub-da IV kib-rat ,, " the four quarters."
ub-su-uqqi-na ub-Su-uqqina-qu " place of meeting. "
ub-sahar-ra ub-saharra-qu "place of dust," S*" 123 sahar = ipru.
ub-lil-lal ip-ra-tu™ pliir. of ipru, "dust."
parakku : S" 23 sq. explains BAR, SAR by this Assyr. term. N3~lS occurs in the
Megillath Antiochos, and is rendered in the Heb. version of that piece by HOS,
" high place " (Xt;npO JT'nn i^DID KJni). So the Peshito, Lev. xxvi, 30 ; Ezek.
XX, 29 ; Hos. X, 8. " Little idol-houses at the bounds of villages." (BarBahlul.)
56. Zagmiikii : New Bab. text wrongly, lil. See 5 R. 29, 70, a. b. ZAG =
ri-e-su, i.e., "head," "beginning." MU is the well-known equivalent of Sattii,
"year," and kit is simply an Assyrian ending. Thus Zagmulni means rA"
i^atti. Esarh. 6, 46, has : ina zag-muk-ki (arhi) reS-ti-i kul-lat mur-ni-is-qi iinent
parrati imeri iuicrit gammali .... Sat-ti-sam-ma la na-par-ka-a lu-up-qi-da
ki-rib-!5a : "On Zagmuku in the first month, all the horses, etc., yearly without
fail I reviewed within it " (i R. 47, 6).
ri§ Satti: this exactly corresponds to the Jewish njC'll ti*N~i or Festival of New
Year, from which a Tract of the Talmud gets its name.
99
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY.
[1887.
59. irainnu'i : pres. I, i of ra;«/J = XJD1 ; Sarg. Gold-inscr. 21 irmA parakki;
Cyl. 20, usannu kirib Bit-IIumria ; BuU-inscr. 54 rimeti-sina, "their abode."
A syn. of raba9u, " to lie down." {Cf. Dan. iii, 6, 21 ; vii, 9.) 4 R. 26, 3, 38:
sa salummat ramii, litbusu melamme, "who abideth in health, is clothed with
brightness."
60. il(hii Sii-par (?) aua ki: Abp. I, 86. 5u-par or su-ut is hardly Semitic : cf.
the official title §u-ut-sak, Esarh. i, 34 (i R. 45) : vmlic Su-ut-sak-ia mulu pihatu
eli-su-nu as-kun. In 2 R. 35, No i, 10, we have 5i-pa-ri = bu-uh-ru. Cf. i, 43.
61. tttaqqi). : II, 2, pres. oiaqu : ""pi, " to fear " (religiously), Arab. jJil'S ^j •
62. kamsu: pf. I, i o{ ka>ndsii = Y{eh. tI*D3 in t^*1D^, "to bow down." izzazu :
pres. I, I of nazdz!(, " sich stellen," " sich aufstellen : " Flood 4, 26 ; Tigl. 3, 50.
Eth. 'j HHi " "^^ comfort," i.e., " to sei a man ///," as we say ; erigere animum de-
missuni. isim»ii^: pres. I, I of sdinii D''l*', "to set," "fix," "appoint," whence
simtu, "lot," "fate," Tigl. I, 24. 4 R. 14, No. 2 Rev., 15 nin sa suma nabii
simta tasama, "Of everything that is named, thou allottest the destiny."
cidrAti^ : pi. of daru ; cf. darii?, Tigl. i, 27, 38. lim is collective, or a shortened
plur., or else ddrAtii is, an abstract noun. R. "IH.
Column III.
parakka su-u parak sar-ru-ti
parak bel-u-ti
sa SI-GAL ilaui rubi ////
Marduk
?a sarru nia-ah-ri
5 i-na kaspi ip-ti-ku bi-ti-ik-su
huracu nam-ri ti-ik-ni"' me-
lam-mi
u-sa-al-bMs-su
u-nu-ti bit E-SAG-ILLA
huracti ru-us-sa-a
10 icH MA-KUA za-ri-ri u abni
Li-ga-'-ln
ka-ak-ka-bi-is sa-ma-mi
e-es-ri-e-ti Babili
u-se-pis az-nu-un
15 sa E-TEMEN-ANA-KI
i-na a-gur-ri abnu ukni el-li-ti
t/iat shri?ie, a shrine of royalty,
the shrine of the lordship
of the gracious one of the gods, the
prince Merodach,
7vhose fabric a former king
in silver had fabricated,
with shining gold, a splendid
decoration,
I overlaid it.
The vessels of the house Esagilla
tuifh massy gold, —
the Bark of Merodach with mould-
ings and gems, —
I made bright,
as the stars of the heavens.
The temples of Babylon
I made, I maintained.
Of Etemen-anafii
in burnt brick (and) fine ofiyx-
marble {?)
100
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[18S7.
u-ul-la-a ri-e-sa-a-sa
a-na e-bi-su E-SAG-ILLA
na-sa-an-ni li-ib-bi
20 ga-ga-da-a bi-tu-ga-ak
ri-e-sa-a-ti iai erini-ia
sa is-tu mat la-ab-na-ni™
i(u kisti el-li-ti™ ub-lam
a-na zu-lu-lu E-KUA
25 pa-pa-ha bel-u-ti-su
as-te-'-e-ma i-ta-a"" libbi
erini dannu-ti"'
a-na zu-lu-lu E-KUA
huragu nam-ri u-sa-al-bis
30 si-i-bi sap-la-nu icu erini zu-lu-lu
huragu u ni-si-ik abni
u-ga-'-in
a-na e-pi-su E-SAG-ILLA
ud-da-kam u-sa-al-la-a
35 sar ikini bel beli
Bar-zi-pa ala na-ar-mi-su
u-us-si-im-ma
E-ZI-DA bit ki-i-ni'"
i-na ki-ir-bi-su u-se-pis
40 i-na kaspi huragi n:-si-iq-ti ab-ni
er-a-a icu mis-ma-qan-na icu
erini
u-sa-ak-li-il si-bi-ir-su
i^u erini zu-lu-lu
pa-pa-ha-a-ti ilu Nabiu"
45 huragu u-sa-al-bi-is
ipi erini zu-lu-lu bab Nana-a
u-sa-al-bis kaspi nam-ri
ri-i-mu dalati bab pa-pa-ha
si-ip-pi si-ga-ri GIS-RI-GAN-
UL
/ reared its head.
Jo 7/ lake Esagilla
my heart stirred tne up ;
in chief have I regarded it, {or,
zealously I laboured).
The choicest of my cedars {orpines),
which frofn the land of Lebanon,
the noble forest, I brought,
for the roofing of Ekua
the abode of his lordship
I sought out ; and the inner side
of the huge cedar-beams
for the roofing of Ekua
with shining gold I overlaid.
The lower e?ids of the cedar-beams
of the roofing
with gold and precious (.?) stones
I vmde bright.
For the making of Esagilla
daily I besought
the King of the gods, the Lord
of lords.
Borsippa the city of his abode
J beautified, and
Ezida, " the Eternal House,"
in the midst tlie?-eof J made.
With silver, gold, precious stones,
bronze, palm-wood, cedar-wood,
L finished the work of it.
the cedar of the roofing
of the abodes of Nebo
with gold I overlaid.
The cedar of the roofing of
the gate of Na?ia'a,
L overlaid with shining silver.
The bulls, the doors, the gate of the
abode,
the lintels, the bars, the posts {J),
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1SS7.
50 icu ka-na-ku za-ri-ri-um-nia
ipc erini zu-lu-lu
da-la-ba-na-a-ti-su
kaspi u-ga-'-in
ta-al-la-ak-ti pa-pa-ha
55 u ma-la-ak biti
a-gu-ur {v. a-gur-ri) es-ma-ri-e
du-u parakki ki-ir-bi-su
pi-ti-iq ka-as-pa
rimii dalati babi
60 i-na za-ha-li-e
nam-ri-is u-ba-an-nim
bita as-mis u-dam-mi-iq-ma
a-na ta-ab-ra-a-ti
lu-li-e us-ma-al-lam
65 es-ri-e-ti Bar-zi-pa
u-se-bi-is az-nu-un
sa E-UR-ME-VII-ANA-KI
i-na a-gur-ri abnu iikni el-li-ti
70 u-ul-Ia-a ri-e-sa-a-sa
GIS-MA ID-GE-UL
ru-ku-bu ru-bu-ti-?u
the lock (?), the mouldings^ and
the cedar of the roofings
{to 7('it) the pointed ends thereof,
with silver I made bright.
The path of the shrine,
and the way to the house,
{7C'as of ) yellow brickwork.
The seat of the shrines in the
midst thereof,
{7vas) silver work.
The bulls, the leaves of the gates,
-with plates of bronze (?),
brightly I ?/iade to glisten.
The house I made gloriously bright
and,
for gazings (of luonder),
with abundatice I had (ft) filled.
The temples of Borsippa
I made, I maintained.
Of the House of the Seven Spheres
of Heaven and Earth,
in burnt bricks, (and) gleaming
onyx-marble,
I reared the head thereof.
The bark Idgcul^
the car of his princeliness,
Notes to Column III,
2. Written : BARA DIMMER-EN-LIL n-ti. NUN = r///'/J, 5 R 13, 43 a. h.
5. iptiqn : Impf. I, i of pataqu. Tliat the root is pHS appears from Sarg.
St. 54, i-pat-ti-qa, ib. "ji, ip-pat-ciu. It is syn. with ha>iA and c/^ian.
//(/««.• "ornament :" 'J"arg.|''|'5ri ornare. Ez. xvi, 13, HniS Ji'^Op, "adorned with
gold;" Jer. iv, 30, SilTl |*31p*n, "ornaments of gold." Dtclaiinnu : from Sum.
melam : K. 4142. See also 2, 53 note.
uSalbiS: impf. Ill, i of labdsu = \y'27 ; like the Ilif. of the Heb. verb, joined
with two accusatives (Gen. xli, 42). This is a good instance of an exception to the
rule tliat Assyr. ti' — Ilcb. D- But such exceptions arc not rare.
8. finuti : an abstr. sing. = "property," " substance," " stuff;" and so " furni-
ture," ■' weapons," " vessels," (TKelrj. .Sanh. Bcllino Cyl. I, 9 : ana ekalSu . . .
erunmia aptema hit nii;irtisu ; Ijurac^u kaspu unut hura(j'i kaspi al)nu acjartu nin
102
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
sumsu . . . ni5irtu kabittu use9amma sallatis amnu : "into his palace ... I entered,
and I opened his treasure-house ; gold, silver, vessels of gold {and) silver, every kind
of precious stone ... a rich treasure, I carried off, and reckoned as booty." Shalm.
Ob. has the phrase, uniit tahazisunu, " their weapons of war." The word is thus
equivalent to Heb. □''73. The R. may be Jin ; cf. Prov. i, 13, "IJ^J P'"^'^?-
10. MA-KUA : (elip) ilti Marduk, 2 R. 62, 41 e. f. (comp. 42 h). MA = elippu
"ship," l<yi^ Matt, xiv, 24; KUA=" rest ;" f/i note 2, 43. The ships or arks
of the gods were doubtless carried in procession, as was the case in Egypt.
zariri : cf. Heb. "It the golden rim or moulding xownA the Ark and Holy Table,
Ex. XXV, II, 24 sq. ; Syr. Ijj^i "necklace." 2 R. 58, 67, No. 6, za-ri-ru.
11. tifd'in : impf. H, i of^enu = }XV, "to shine," "be bright," "pure."
Or leg. tizdHn, and cf. zinndti, i, 12, and the Arab. ^\- ornavit.
13. eSreti: pi. oi eSritu, which, as the context shows, must mean "holy place,"
"temple." Was a temple so called, because marked by an ITlJ^Nl ? Or is the
term a specialized form of asru, " place ? "
15. " House of the corner-stone of Heaven and Earth."
19. See Exod. xxxv, 21, 26 for this phrase.
20. gdgadd = qaqqdda, '^p^^. Cf. Phillips Cyl. 3, 3 sq. a-na Esagili u Ezida
ka-ak-da-a ka-a-a-na-ak, " to Esagili and Ezida I was faithful iti preference"
i.e., before other temples. Qaqdd, "as the head," "in chief," an adv. accus.
This contracted form also occurs, 4 R. 20, 6. But perhaps the R. is rather kadil
= j^^ studuit, operam posuit in aliquo opere ; cf. ^^ laboravit. " I was
sedulously faithful;" " I sedulously toiled." Bituqak may be pf. I, 2 {pittuqak,
Wkepiiluhak) oipataqu, " to build," "make," " construct ; " or pf. I, 2 of bdqti, "to
see," "look at," as Fl. takes it, comparing ana nurika upaqqu ilani rabuti,
4 R. 19, 42, 43 a. But this verb may be paqi\ (= npD, cf. Hj^S), or baqd,
^i^? loo 9 scrutatus est, exploravit ; Ethpa. consideravit, Matt, vi, 28.
21. resdti : pi. of restu, used like Heb. JT'tJ'XT to denote the best and choicest
of any kind.
23. ubla>'^ = ubila, ubil, impf. I, i of abdlu, ?21, "to bring;" Tigl. 5, 25 ;
63. Win, ^DOJ, ^^ill. TIR=/J/i/«.
24. fuMhi, written zulidu. The term occurs, Sarg. St. 54 ; R. faldlu, " to
overshadow," "cover," 7?^; cf. Gen. xix, 8. See also Sarg. Silb. 30. gusuri
erini surmeni eliSina U9allil, " beams of cedar and cypress upon them I laid," as
roofing.
26. ita™ libbi : ivall ox side of the interior: so Rod well. Itil, "side," masc.
of ittu, in the same sense. Gen. ite (a-na i-te-e na-hal matu Mu-^ur, "to the
bank of the Wady el-Arish;" Abp. in 3 R. 35, Obv. 1. 12). The fern, ittu has
plur. itdti, Tigl. i, 39; vSarg. Cyl. 42, i-ta-ti-e-su; St. 42, i-ta-tus." Itti,
"with," Heb. JIX, is a form of ittu. Synonyms: idu, "hand," "side," pi.
idati, Tigl. i, 81, (Sum. ZAG and DA), and padzt.
103 M
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1S87
30. Sihi, i.e., Sipi, apparently connected with PJID "end; " whence also Si-pa,
" feet," lit. " extremities " (?). Sapldnu, " bottom, like caliiuhni, " image."
34. uddakam : Cf. I K. 52, No. 3, I, 22 ud-da-ak-ku la na-pa-ar-ka-a,
" daily without fail," like sSttisam la naparka, Esarh. usallA : impf. II, i
L ^''
oi salil = Aram., Aral)., Ethiop. N7V M^ oravit. (I am aware that this is
exceptional. C/.'mlinh. a^Va.nd'y?)); in Arab. ^m^Ls and ^^^iL.?.) The noun
is taslitii: 4 R. 2, col. 5> 4^, iq-ri-ba tas-li-ta ul i-sim-mu, " prayer, supplication,
hear they not ! "
36. 7iarmiSu: I suppose = rimetisu, Sarg. St. 54. The var. Jtai-dmtu =
"his delight." 2 R. 35, No. 3, 43, ni-ir-mu = is-du, i.e., "foundation."
37. ussi/ii: impf. I, i of asamu = Dt^*!, Arab. stigma inussit (2) super-
avit alium pulcritudine ; . pulcer fuit facie. Cf. Sarg. Silb. 24, ussima, " I
adorned;" Tigl. 7, 100, lisim. Hence the noun simtu, pi. sim&tii, "badges,"
" insignia," " tokens," Tigl. 7, 88, and adv. asmis, " beautifully."
42. uSaklil : impf. Ill, i of kaldlu : Heb. and Aram. ??3, Tigl. 6, 90, 99;
iiSiklil, with vowel assim. SibirSu : Sipni, "sending," "mission," "task," "work ;"
like nDS70. R. ^a/arw, " to send," Tigl. 7, 94. Sarg. St. 71, 97 "Arbeit,"
" Kunst."
46. For the broken sign ^jW^ > see note on i, 50.
48. riniA : "bulls," i.e., bull-colossi. TV. in — 11. ; = rimani.
49. Sigdru : Heb. "11 JD, Hos. 13, 8, "bolt" or "barrier of the heart;" i.e., the
breast; Arab. ,V.a»>-lJ "bolt." The Sum. si-gar, 4 R. 20, No. 2, 3/4 a (Gis
si-gar azag an-na-kid) is proV)abIy a loan word from the Babylonian.
52. dalaban&ti: var. dalban&ti. Cf. \yT[, "a goad;" ^ J "to be
sharp," " pointed," of a sword or spear. Or R. may be f]?! ; cf. Eccl. x, 18 ;
Prov. xix, 13, F]?! "a dropping (of rain) from the roof;" the word may then
■' ■' S 1^ P
= " eaves." (The plane or poplar is called XBp'V^, U_-vt) ; l)ut that hardly suits
here.)
56. eSmare : cf. Arab, ys^ "tawny," "brownish," f.^n, wheat. Or does
the term mean "glazed," and is it to Ijc connected with ^L>.s>- " to become fat,"
and so " shining? " Cf. also ^Qt^'n, Ez. i, 4, 27.
57. dtl : syn. of Suldu, "seat," "dwelling. ' Syll. S"= 25 — 27. Is it related
to ^"^i as aSru to "IIJ'N ?
59. AMA-MES : var. ri-i-mu, ttt siipi-. 48.
60. zahale: I first thought of the }^"IX vriT, Mic. vii, 17, and rendered "ser-
pents;" but Ethiop. HrhA : aeruginavit, TIfhA = aerugo, seems a better com-
parison. The city gates had brazen lintels and side-posts (Ildt. i, 179).
104
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
■1887.
tihanni^ : Impf. II, i of bam'i, " to build," in special sense, as in Tigl. 7, 98,
kiribsu kima libbi same ubinni : "its interior like mid heaven I made shuie ;'"
str. made fat: cf. ic-^ (s of ^e-^)> "to become fat;" and Jer. v, 28:
inSJ'y IJOK', " they are waxen fat, they shine."
62. Not "den Tempel weihte ich festlich ein " (Fl.) ; asmis (var. as-mi-is)
does not mean "festlich ;" see note on 37, and damdqu means "to be bright,"
clarere. 4 R. 14, No. 2 (a hymn to the fire-god) : sa kaspi hura9i mudammiq
sunu atta, " of silver and gold, their brightener (purifier) art thou." The line is
parallel to the preceding.
63. tabrati: "gazings;" pi. oitahrittt. R. barfi, " to look," " see," whence
Mru, "a vision." Tabrit nnisi, syn. oi suUit, "a dream."
64. lule, "fullness," "abundance," syn. oi duhdu • see 2 R. 30, 37a he (ge) =
lulu; 2 R. 25, 42 sq. ef. nam-he = duhdu. Cf. also the term hegallu™. Sanh.
Const. 2, 86, has bita laid tismalUs, " the house, with abundance I had it filled."
Both lubl and laht are from LAL = malu, S*" 141.
71. See 2 R. 62, 42, e.f. GIS-MA-ID-GE-UL | elip ilu Nabi'um. The Ship
or Ark of Nebo was, therefore, called "the Ship of the River of Overflowing
Delight. " Cf. 10 supr. S'' 98 sq.
72. ruki'ibu is obviously ^l^"!- The common word for " chariot " is tiarkabtu.
Column IV.
icu elip ma-as-[ta]-ha ZAG- the Bark of the Way of Zaq-
MU-KU muku,
i-si-in-ni"' SU-AN-N A-KI the festival of Babylon,
icu ka-ri-e-su its sides
za-ra-ti ki-ir-bi-su (a?id) the pavilioii in the midst
thereof
_5 u-sa-al-bi-su J overlaid
ti-i-ri sa-as-si u abni with rotas of luhite marble (.?) and
{coloured ?) stones.
E-SIGISSE SIGISSE a-ki-ti The House of Victims, the exalted
91-ir-ti resting-place
sa bel ilani ilu Marduk of the lord of the gods, Merodach,
SI-LIG hi-da-a-ti u ri-sa-a-ti the master of the revels and re-
joicings
10 sa I-GI-GI u ilu A-NUN- of the Igigi and the Aniamaki,
NA-KI
i-na ka-ma-a-ti Babili on the ramparts of Babylon,
105 M 2
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
[1887.
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gu-ur-ri
sa-da-ni-is e-ir-te
E-MAG-E-DIMMER-
NIN-HAR-SAG-GA.
15 lib-ba Bdbili
a-na DIMMER-MAG um-mu
ba-ni-ti-ia
i-na Babili e-pu-us
a-na ilii Nabiu"' sukkalli
^i-i-ri
sa i-din-na*" hatta i-sar-ti
20 a-na pa-ga-da'" ka-al da-ad-mi
E - SA- PA - KALA - MA - SI
(M)-MA bit-su
i-na Babili
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
e-ip-ti-iq pi-ti-iq-su
25 a-na Hit Sin mu-da-am-mi-iq
i-da-ti-ia
E-GIS- SIR -GAL bit-su
i-na Ba-bi-li e-pu-us
a-na ilu Samsi da-a-a-ni™
^n-i-ri
30 sa UR-LIL (?) DUG (?) i-na
te-ir-ti-ia
E - SA - KUD - KALA- MA
bit-su
i-na Babili
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
sa-ki-is e-pu-us
35 a-na ilii Rammanu mu-Sa-as-
ki-in hegalli
i-na MADA-ia E-NAM-GE
bit-su
i-na Babili ab-ni™
a-na ilu Gu-la e-ti-ra-at
ga-mi-la-at na-bi-is-ti-ia
40 E-SA-BAD E-HAR-SAG-
IL-LA
with gypsum and burnt brick
moimtaiti-high I erected.
the great house, Edimmerninhar-
sagga,
in the heart of Babylon,
for the Great Goddess, the Mother
that made me,
in Babylofi I built.
For Nebo, the exalted Messenger,
who bestowed a sceptre of righteous-
ness
for goverjiing all habitable places,
Esapakalamasitufjia, his house,
in Babylon
with gypsum a?id brick
Icofistructed the structure thereof
-for Sin, that brighteneth
my boufidary walls,
Egissirgal, his house,
in Babylofi I made.
Bor Shamash, the Judge Supreme,.
who by my law,
Esakudkalama, his house^
in Babylon
with gypsum and brick
loftily I made.
For Rimmon, who caitseth abun-
da?ice
in my land, Enam^c, his house,
ifi Babylon I built.
For Gula that spareth,
that fostereth my life,
Esabad, Eharsagilla,
106
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[iSay.
bitati-sa i-na Eabili
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
as-mi-is ab-ni"
a-na DIMMER-NIN-E-AN-
NA
45 be-il-ti ra-'-im-ti-ia
E-KI-KU-GARZA bit-sa
i-na tu-ub-ga dur Babili
sa-ki-is e-bu-us
a-na t7u DtJ-E mu-sab-bi-ir
50 ka-ak-ku na-ki-ri-ia
bit-su in Bar-zi-pa e-pu-us
a-na t'/u Gu-la be-il-ti
mu-ti-ba-at si-ri-ia
E-GU-LA E-TIL-LA E-ZI-
BA-TIL-LA
55 III e-es-ri-e-ti-sa
i-na Bar-zi-pa e-pu-us
a-na z7u Rammanu mu-sa-az-
ni-in
zu-un-ni'" nu-uh-su i-na mati-
ia
bit-su i-na Bar-zi-pa
60 as-mi-is ab-ni'"
a-na z'/u Sin na-as za-ad-du
da-mi-iq-ti-ia
E-DIM-AN-NA bit-su
i-na i-gar li-mi-ti E-ZI-DA
65 na-am-ri-is e-bu-us
Im-gur t'lu Bel
u Ni-mi-it-ti t7u Bel
durani rabuti sa Babili
sa Nabiu^-pal-u-gu-ur
70 sar TIN-TIR-KI a-bi ba-nu-
u-a
i-pu-su-ma la u-sa-ak-li-lu
si-bi-ir-su-un
/ler /louses i?i Babylon,
luith gypsum and brick
in fair wise I built.
For the Dame of the House of
Heaven,
the lady that loveth me,
Ekikugarza, her house,
in the purlieus of the wall of
Babylo7i
loftily I made.
For the Son of the House, that
shattereth
the sword of my foes,
his house in Borsippa I made.
For Gula, the Lady
that maketh whole my flesh,
Egida, Etilla, Ezibatilla,
her three temples,
in Borsippa I made.
For Rimmon, that rai7ieth
the 1-ain of plenty in my land,
his house in Borsippa
in fair tvise I built.
For Sin, that brifigeth the increase
of my welfare,
Edima?ina, his house,
at the side of the preciitct ofEzida
splendidly I made.
Imgurbel
and Ni?nittibel,
the great ramparts of Babylon
which Nabopolassar,
king of Babylofi, the father that
begot me,
had made a?id ?iot fnished
the work of them ;
107
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1887.
Notes to Column IV.
I. maStahn (Only the end of ta is left on the stone. Cf. 5, 19, 40.) is
su-u-qu
,, rap-HU
mas-ta-hu
apparently a syn. oi siiqu, " street : " 2 R. 33, 41, c.d. tar
tar si-la
e ... sir
Cf. also S** 304 si-la | »rr | su-u-qu.
The term is like SnwP'D, Targ. 2 K. xviii, 17 ; Syr. Kj^A^^ ; which means
expansio, extensio ; the Heth of that term, however, is soft, as appears from the
.'Vrabic.
2. isinu : theplur. isindti occurs, Phillipps 3, 7. I identify this term with the
Targimiic p'^'^X, tempus ; n3-1w'X21, " at its (proper) time," Tg. Jer. Gen. xxviii, 10 ;
•"JICX, Deut. xxxi, 10 (of a yearly festival). The term is thus = nyiD.
3. tj(h-e : niT'p, Lev. i, 15 ; v, 9 of the tc^/Zj or sides of the altar ; Jer. iv, 19,
the wa//s of the heart. Sarg. Cyl. 37 has also plur. qaratii. 2 R. 62, 75 g. h.
4. zaratu means "tent;" I R. 7 J. (inscr. over tent of Sanherib : zaratu
5a Sinahirib sar mati Assur.) The R. is zarn = Tr\\, " to spread out."
6. //r/^Dnin, Cant, i, lo sq. Or perhaps, "figures;" R. "ISD.
8. e sigisse = \A\. niqi ; Si" 158. Cf. Flood 3, 50 ; and Syr. \.».Okl agnus,
ovis ; Acts viii, 32 ; Joh. xxi, 17.
akitu : Phillipps 3, 8, akisunu rabiti. R. perhaps akil — Eth. jj^p : whence
1 'Tl.'^ • "cessation;" cf. «_xJ5) quievit, substitit vir. or li , in 5 and 8, " to
recline."
9. §ILIG = sagaburu, S'' 268. The latter word is spelt sagapiru, and equated
with elnlu^, 2 R. 31, 62 e. Sagaburat, the fem., occurs 2 R. 57, 14 c (parallel
with belit).
II. kaniAti : Flood 3, 7. The R. seems to be kaniii — HDD, ^ "to
cover," " shield."
13. erti : for ar/e' (vowel assimilation); impf I, i of ritil , yjl"!, " to set up,"
"erect;" (f. \j ^ constrinxit nodum, II, i, uratti, tcrat/d. Sarg. Sil. 34, St. 66.
14. E MAG = bitu 9irtu; NIN IJARSAGGA = belit sadi, "lady of the
mountain" (= Beltis). DIMMER MAG- (1. 16) is the same goddess: 2 R. 54,
2, 2 sq. ESAPAKALAMASIMMA = bitn&din hatti vuiti, "house of the giver
of the sceptre of the countr)'."
18. LUG = sukkallu, "servant," "messenger," S*" 77 ; Pi. 117; Bors. 2, 16,
ilu Na-bi-u™ DU (var. ab-la"") ki-i-ni™ su-uk-ka-al-la" 9i-i-ri; 4 R. 14, 3, i sq.
19. idinnam = iddina™. GIS-SA-PA, ideogr. of ^atpt, "sceptre."
20. dadmu: reduplicated form of admti: cf admdnu. Sarg. Cyl. 22.
Esarhaddon threw down at Zidon gi-mir da-ad-me-Su, "all its dwellings; " i R.
45, I, 9 sq. The term also means "dwelling places," in the sense of "neigh-
bourhoods," "districts;" and so here.
108
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1S87.
25. Fl. " der die Weihe verleiht meiner Macht;" (?) We might perhaps
render, "that maketh fortunate;" but I prefer the above; see note on 3, 62.
id&ti (= nn^) is pi. of idii, "hand," "side," and is a syn. of ihi, ittu, in the
sense of " wall: " Tigl. i, 81 ; 2, 65; 4, 92: see Lotz.
26. E-GI§§IR-GAL = bit nuri rabi, " House of the Great Light :" 2, 49
supr. (So Menant.)
30. ur, see 3, 67 ; ?/r=hamamu, " sphere," " quarter of heaven ; " and e^idu,
"side," or "region;" also kanagurrn, " road " (?) 2 R. 38, 27, c. d. For HI,
cf. s* 361; tirtu = n-j'iR NriniN..
31. E-SAKUD-KALAMA, "The House of Man's Doom;" bit dan nisi,
" house of the judge of mankind."
34. saqis, adv. of saqu, " high ;" Tigl. 2, 41 ; 3, 68, etc.
35. Cf. Sarg. St. 83: mu-kin hi-gal-li-ia; and the fragment aj>. D.L. p. 80,
1. 6 sq., il sari tabi bel tasme u magari musabsi ^imri u kubutte mukin higal, " the
god of the good wind, the lord of hearing and obeying, that causeth union and
pregnancy, that establisheth abundance."
36. E-NAM-HI = bit duhdi, " house of Fullness; " note on 3, 64.
37. i'tirat: ptcp. f. I, I of atdni = "ILDX4, "protect," "rescue," "spare;"
Tigl. 2, 53; 5, 12; 6, 26; ^ "Itiy, I Sam. xxiii, 26; Ps. v, 13, from which it
appears that " surround " is the original meaning. GamAlu, verschonen, schenken.
Tigl. 2, 51 sq. etirsu napistasu agmil; of a conquered king, " I spared him, his
life I granted," or perhaps " cherished," " preserved ; " Prov. xi, 17. 1i^*SJ /'JD'lJ ;
Ps. xiii, 6. See 4 R. 2, col. 5, 44 e-ti-ra ga-ma-la ul i-du-u, " to spare, to
cherish, they know not."
40. E-SABAD E-g:AR-SAG-ILLA = bit sadi elli,
" House of the Bright Mountain."
44. NIN-E-ANNA = belit bit same, a title of Beltis.
46. For ;J^ >->-y = ga-ar-za, par-9u, see S"" 215. For ki-ku, KAT. 350 :
ilani ina ki-ku-sunu idki.
47. tiihqu: cf. tubitqatn™, 2, 55 note; and tibqu, "an ell," Tigl. 7. 81
49. DU-E ; abil biti.
53. mutibat Serena: ptcp. H, l of tddii. cf. Tigl. 7, 33, 1 14; Prov. xi., 17.
Tiib Seri, " health of body."
54. E-TILLA, hit balati, "House of life;" E-ZIBA-TILLA, "House of
Good Life."
58. ztmnu or zi'inii (Tigl. 8, 27), " rain." For the verb (HI, i impf. asheie).
Flood 2, 31. 34. Ethiop. j-j^*^ • seems to be the only Semitic cognate.
61. nds: ptcp. I, i est. oi na&ii = ^5f*J. Caddu is a difficult word, which Fl.
says he cannot explain ; faddu means " trap," " snare," (D^'^'V Judg. ii, 3), as is
clear from 4 R. 26 21 sq. (Lyon); and Sarg. Cyl. 57 calls Sin musaklim 9adde,
sehend lassend die Schlingen. Perhaps, therefore, we might translate here :
109
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY.
[1887.
"To Sin that taketh away the snare of my welfare," i.e., the snare set for it.
But possibly here, and Cyl. 57, we ought to transcribe zaddii, and comp. ^\\ •
auxit \ _L-L iUi i J^ ■ " ^^'^ increased to him good fortune."
63. E- DIM- ANNA: ? house of the Prince of Heaven: 2 R. 49, 34,
No. 2, Rev.
7
64. igArti: nr.^ ^j^i "stone heap;" in Assyr. "wall," Tigl. 7, 99,
igarate-8u, of a temple; " side," e.g., of a ship (= 9ilu, y?V), 4 R. 51, 46 c, ina
igari elippi, "on board a ship." Lotz compares i..^^^- "side," "adjacent
tract or quarter." Limitu or limetu, "border," boundary," "territory," I R.
39. 14-
65. See 2 R. 50, 24 sqq. a. b. Imgta-bel — dicr Biiaintaki, etc.
68. BADA-GAL-GAL : S" 351 ba-ad = du-u-ru, "wall," "stronghold."
A blank line follows this one on the stone.
70. TIN- TIR- KI = " Place of the Seat of Life." TIN = balatu ; TIR =
subtu, "seat." Cf. 2 R. 20, No. 3, 12/13. asa-zu tintirkita asa numundadi = itti
eqlika ba-bi-li™ eqlu ul issannan, " with thy field Babylon, no field may vie."
Column V,
15
hi-ri-it-su i-ih-ru-ma
II ka-a-ri dannu-ti
in ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
ik-zu-ru ki-bi-ir-su
ka-a-ri a-ra-ah-ti
i-bu-su-ma
ma-ka-a-at a-gur-ri
a-bar-ti Bu-ra-at-ti
u-ra-ak-ki-su-ma
la u-sa-ak-li-lu
si-it-ta-a-ti
is-tu DU-AZAG
KI-NAM-TAR-TAR-RI
NE
pa-ra-ak si-ma-a-ti
a-di a-a-i-bur-sa-bu-u'"
su-li-e Babili
mi-ih-ra-at bab Belti
in §IB-NA-KU-MI-NA
TUR-DA
-E-
its moat had he dug, afid
two strong embank/zients
with gypsum and burtit brick
he constructed as its border ;
the dikes of the Arahtu
he had made, and
fe?ices of brick
{on) the bank of Euphrates
had constructed, afid
had not finished
the rest ;
from Du-azag,
the place of them that determine
destinies,
the shrine of the Fates,
unto A-ibur-sabu'",
the causeway of Babylon,
before the Gate of Beltis,
with stro7ig blue tiles.
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
ma - as - ta - ha beli rabi ilu
Marduk
20 u-ba-an-na-a ta-al-lak-ti
ia-ti abil-su ri-e-es-ta-a
na-ra-am libbi-su
Im-gu-ur ilu Bel
u Ni-mi-it-ti ilu Bel
25 durani rabuti sa Babili
u-sa-ak-li-il
i-ta-at kar hi-ri-ti-su
II. ka-a-ri dannu-ti
in ku-bur u a-gur-ri ab-ni-ma
30 it-ti kar a-bi ik-zu-ru
e-is-ni-iq-ma
ala a-na ki-da-ni'"
u-sa-al-mi
kar a-gur-ri
35 bal-ri erib sam-si
dClr Babili
u-sa-as-hi-ir
a-a-bu-ur-sa-bu-u'"
su-li-e Babili
40 a-na ma-as-ta-ha beli rabi ilu
Marduk
ta-am-la-a za-aq-ru
u-ma-al-li-ma
i-na SIB-NA KU-MI-NA
TUR-DA
u [SIB] abni si-ti-iq sad-i
45 a-a-i-bu-ur-sa-bu-u
is-tu babi el-la
a - di ilu Istar sa - ki - pa - at
te-e-bi-sa
a-na ma-as-ta-ha i-lu-ti-su
50 u-da-am-mi-iq-ma
it-ti sa a-bi i-pu-su
as a sacred way of the great lord
Merodach
he beautified the road.
As for me, his exalted son,
the darling of his heart,
Imgurbel
a fid Nimittibel,
the great ramparts of Babylon,
Ififiished;
the sides of the embatik/nent of its
moat,
the two strong embankments,
with gypsum and burnt brick I
built, a?id
with the embankment, {ivhicli) my
father had constructed,
I joined (them), and
the city, for cover,
I carried {them^ round.
A wall of brick,
at the ford of the setting su7i,
the fortress of Babylon
I threw around.
A-bur-sabii"",
the causezvay of Babylon,
for the sacred 2vay of the girat
lord Merodach,
to a high elevation
I raised, and
7vith strong tiles, enamelled blue,
and stone, hewn from the moun-
tains,
A-ibur-sabil
from the Shifting Gate
to Istar that hurleth down the//i
that scorn her,
for the sacred way of his godhead
I made fair, and
with what my father had done
III
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY [1887.
e-is-ni-iq-ma / coiwected {it), and
u-ba-an-na-a / bemitified
ta-al-la-ak-ti the road
55 ilu Istar sa-ki-pa-at of Istar, that hurleth down
te-e-bi-sa thejn that scorn her.
§a Im-gur ilu Bel Of Imgurbel
u Ni-mi-it-ti ilu Bel and Nimittibel
abulli ki-la-at-ta-an the portals round about —
60 i-na ta-am-li-e through the raising
su-li-e Ba-bi-li of the causetvay of Babylon
is-ta-ap-pi-la low had become
ni-ri-ba-si-in their entrances :
abulli si-na-a-ti those portals
65 at-ki-e-ma I raised, and
Notes to Column V.
1. hiritsn ihru; Ijiru, X4in; ''/• r ^ parallel "to slit," "split." Inf. I,
I Sarg. Cyl. 46, 55, In/v.
2. DA- LUM, ideogr. = dafinii. Duru dannu, 9, 19 = duni DA- LUM, 6,
28, ^2- The ideogr. occurs in the inscr. of Hammuragas.
4. ii/furu: Impf. I. i of t/afdru, "to join," "put together," "collect," Sarg.
Sil. 39; Tigl. 7, 10. Cf. ^j arx, palatium; ^^£J : 4"^/^ : sepsit ; c^^^ ;
constrinxit.
kibrii, "bank" "shore;" 'K. kab&rii, "to be great," " long," "1!!1D (Haupt).
^'^ ■' . I ■• . . ^''
7. iiiaq&tn: cf. \J<. custodia, from vA,< custodivit; or 'i servavit,
custodivit (2) reparavit rem, bene instruxit. (So malakii from \)'\.) The aij-tanii]
of Hdt. I, 180 is intended; cf. Diod. 2, 8, 20.
8. rak&su = D3T "tobind," Ex. xxviii, 28; in Assyr. "to bind together" (with
cement), "to build." Perhaps the idea is rather that of "heaping up," "raising;"
cf. D''D3~1, "hills," Is. xl, 4. Sanherib says: ljal-9Ci (meS) eli-su u-rak-kis,
" siege works against him I threw up."
9. ahartu = X^!l^ "wing," in sense of "side;" or more prob. = dpartu,
i.e., appartu, "marsh," X'iDNl. Cf. the plur. in the expression nc^r agamme u
apparate, " jjooIs and marshes." But? abAru, "to be strong;" cf. kibru, 1. 4.
II. sittAti: pi. of sitttu, Tigl. I, 85. cf. sittii, Sarg. Cyl. 20; abstr. sittAte,
Sarg. Botta ii,^,\ ad fin. Ileb. niDL'^ "ends," "extremities," Arab i,;;,,,^^ ,
<0L;5 AJL;, ivJL-.', "rump," "behind."
112
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
12. DU AZAG : Stihtti ellitu, "The Bright Abode." Between these
two signs on the stone a sign somewhat like kti has been chiselled out.
13. KI-NAM-TAR-TAR-RI-E-NE = asar sami simati; 2 R. 7, 1-5. a.b.: -
tar
nam
nam-tar
sa-a-mu
sim-tu™
sim-tu™ sa-a-mu.
15. A-ibur-sabii, " May plenty not pass away ! " the name of a street {ihur —
ibir, apparently; cf. 10, 4).
16. siihl: prob. loan-word from Sum. SILA = suqu, "street," S^ 304.
Else we might think of n?pPj and a R. npD = ?7D ; cf. \jr^ "he raised,'
" took up " a thing.
17. KA-NIN = bdb belti, "Gate of Beltis." mihrat, "before;" = mibrit,
in the phrase mih^-it abitlli dliStt, " before the gate of his city."
18. I R. has tuniiina titrda; but the first sign on the stone is KU (Y^T).
TURDA = eqdti, " hard," " firm ; " see note on 6, 16 ; 4 R. 27, 19 sq. a. SIB =
libitti, 4 R. 18, No. 2, Rev. 28. 5 R. 30, 61, g, h. NA KU-MI-NA = aban
same, " stone of heaven." Tiles, enamelled blue, seem to be meant.
30. iqzuru: the Old Bab. text has iqstiru, which Fl. adopts; but the New
Bab. text is right, for the stone has ^J J zii (i.e., fu, in this inscription).
31. Esniq = asniq (by vowel assim.). A very common verb, "to squeeze
together," " confine," einengen, bedrangen. Tigl. 3, 58, etc. See Lotz, ad lor.
A syn. oi likkubn, and kaSadii, 2 R. 48 c, d, 6 sqq., and o{ dalul and qiribu, ibid.,
25 sqq. 2 R. 35, No. 3, 23 : sa-(na)-qu = qa-ra-bu.
32. Kidanu: cf. Eth. Xi^\ I texit, 't'tl^^ * protectus est, Ps. Ix 4; ^J^'^ :
tunica; Arab. j^Jo veste cinctus est.
33. iisabin: impf III, i of lanii^, belagern. Tigl. 6, 24.
35. balri recurs 6, 28; Phillipps 2, 6, ba-la-ar samsi 391, "the balru of the
sunrising. " The word is a loan from the Sumerian: 2 R. 62, 3 Obv. c.d. ki-a
bal-ri = e-bir-ian ; ibid. 3 Rev. c.d. 74 sqq. bal — e-bi-ru"^; bal-ri — e-bir-ti
ndri, " the crossing of a river."
37. For saharti, cf. 4 R. 29, No. 5, Rev. 56: riminitu™ sa nasharsa tabu,
"The merciful (goddess) whose turning round is good." 4 R. 10, 6, Rev. ana
ili'a rimini attanashar, unnini agabbi, " To my merciful god I turn, supplica-
tions I utter."
41. tamlu: "a filling up," R. malfi, ^'Q ; of the form tainSilu, tapdi),
tam]iaru. Cognate accus. after timalli, impf II, I of maltl, "to fill;" 4 R.
26, No. 3, 39 I 40 = kurkurra galgalla = sadi zaqruti, "high mountains."
44. Sitqu or Sitku ; cf. Sarg. St. 71, maltakti eri namri, " a work (?) of shining
bronze" (= mastaktum, 2 R. 45, 14 d.). The determinative SIB seems to be
repeated by mistake from I. 43.
113
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF 13IBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGV.
[1887.
47) 55- The usual ideogram of Nana (Nana'a 4 R. 36, No 35, 3,) occurs
here. See Phillipps 2, 23, 34, Na-na-a ; Abp. 235, 249. This goddess was
originally distinct from Istar : 4 R. 53, 5c. Both were worshipped at Erech,
of which town Istar-Beltis was the chief goddess (Phillipps 2, 52 ; Istar Uruki
belit Uruki elliti"). The temple of Nana'a at Erech was called Eanna (see Del.
PD., 222). SakApu = sahdpu, " to throw down ; Tigl. 8, 77; 4 R. 10, 36 Rev.
belu" aradka la tasakip, *'0 lord, cast not thy servant down!" Telni: ptcp. I,
I oi tebic = 3yn. This seems better than connecting the term with tibi}, S43n,
59. kilaitan : cf. Creation Fragm. K. 3567, 9, iptema abulli ina 9ili(e) kilallan ;
" He opened gates in the sides all round." The same expression recurs, Sarg. Cyl.
66. Kilallu means "the whole" (Schrad. KAT., p. 220); cf. Chald. ke/d/ci.
Is kilattu ~ kilaltu a fern, form of it ? So simittu, "left," = similtu.
62. iStappild : Impf. II, 2 of Sapalu, ?S^. 3 f. pi.
63. neribti: "entry;" pi. ni-ri-bi-te, Tigl. 4, 53. From crihu, "to enter,"
like nemiqu from eniiqu. Neriba is the dual.
65. atqe: Impf. I, i of /a^;/ = X4pn. Cf. "pHS ypD, Gen. xxxi, 35. Col. 7, 58.
Column VI.
mi-ih-ra-at me-e i-sid-si-in
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
u-sar-si-id-ma
i-na a-gur-ri abnu ukni elli-ti"
5 sa rimia u ^iri ezziiti
ba-nu-u kir-bu-us-sa
na-ak-li-is u-se-pis
ipi erini dannu-ti
a-na zu-lu-li-si-na
10 u-sa-at-ri-iQ
dalati ipi erini
ta-ah-lu-ub-ti siparri
as-ku-ub-bu u nu-ku-se-e
bi-ti-iq eri e-ma babe-sa
15 e-ir-te-it-ti
rimu eri e-iq-du-tu'"
u firi ezzuti se-zu-zu-ti
i-na .si-ip-pi-5i-na us-zi-iz
abulli si-na-a-ti
over agaitist the water their foun-
daiion
with gypsum a?id brick
I firmly laid, atid
with burfit brick, (and) gleami7Jg
onyx-marble,
of which bulls and huge serpents
they make, the interior of them
cunningly f constructed.
Strong cedar beams
for the roofing of them
I laid on.
Doors of cedar
{with') platifig of copper ;
lifitels and hifiges,
bronze-work, round its gates
I set up.
Strong bulls of bronze,
a?id serpents huge, erect,
by their threshholds I stationed :
those portals.
114
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
20 a-na tab-ra-a-ti kissat ni-si
lu-li-e us-ma-al-lam
gan tahazi a-na Im-gur ilu Bel
dur Babili la da-hi-e
sa ma-na-ma sarru mah-ri la i-
pu-su
25 IV M ammat ga-ga-ri
i-ta-a-ti Babili
ni-si-is la da-hi-e
diira danna bal-ri samsi a^i
Babili u-sa-as-hi-ir
30 hi-ri-is-su ah-ri-e-ma ki-bi-ir-su
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
aq-su-ur-ma
dura danna i-na
r kisadi- 1
I ahi-/
sa-da-ni-is ab-nim
35 abulli-su sa-ad-la-a-ti
u-ra-ak-ki-is-ma
dalati icu erini tah-lu-ub-ti si-
parri
e-ir-te-it-ti-si-na-a-ti
as-sum a-a-bi la-ba-ne pa-ni'"
40 i-te-e TIN-TIR-KI la sa-na-ga
me-e ra-bi-u-ti""
ki-ma gi-bi-is ti-a-ma-ti
ma-da u-sa-al-mi-ma
e-bi-ir-su-un
45 ki-ma e-bir ti-a-ama-ti gal-la-ti
ia-ar-ri ma-ar-ti
bu-tu-uq-ti ki-ir-ba-su-un
la su-ub-si-i
si-bi-ik e-pi-ri
for the gazings of the multitude of
the people,
with abundafice {of objects of art)
Ifilled.
That shaft of battle to Imgjirbel,
the wall of Babylon, might not
reach ;
{lahat no ki/ig before me had done ;)
for four thoiisa?id cubits of ground,
on the flanks of Babylon
from afar unapproachable,
a 7nighty rampart, at the ford of
the sunrising,
Babylon I threw around.
Its moat I dug, and the bank of it
with gypsum and brick
I bound together, and
a mighty ra7npart on the\ "^'' ' i
-^ -^ {marge)
of it
mountain-high I built.
Its portals broad
I constructed, arid
the doors in cedar, with plating of
copper,
I set them up.
That foes might castdoza?i the face,
the bounds of Babylon might not
approach ;
great wate?-s,
like the volume of seas,
the land I carried round, and
the crossing of them
(was) like the crossing of the great
sea,
of the briny flood.
A burst in the midst of them
not to suffer to befal,
with a bank of earth
15
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1887.
50 as-ta-ap-pa-ak-su-nu-tim-ma I emhatiked them, and
ka-a-ri a-gu-ur-ri avails of Jdln-brick
us-ta-as-hi-ir-su-nu-ti"" / threw around the?n.
ma-a^-^ar-ti na-ak-li-is The defetices skilftilly
u-da-an-ni-in-ma did I strengthen, atid
55 al mati Babili the capital Babylon
a-na ni-gir-ti as-ku-un for defettce I fitted.
Ta-a-bi-su-bu-ur-su Tabisubtirsu,
dur Bar-zi-pa the wall of Borsippa,
e-es-si-is e-pu-us aneio I made.
60 hi-ri-it-su ah-ri-e-ma Its moat I dug, and
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri 7C'ith gypsum and brick
aq-zu-ur ki-bi-ir-sa I fenced its bank,
ilu Nabiu"'-ku-du-ur-ri-u-^u-ur Nebuchadrezzar,
Notes to Column VI.
I. isdu : T"'X, Num. xxi, 15, "bottom," "ground," "foundation."
3. uSarSid : Impf. Ill, l o{ raSddu ; " to make fast and firm," f.^., usarsidu
kussu-su, " they established his throne." Tigl. 8, 8, 38 ; Sarg. Cyl. 65; 4 R. 18,
No. 2 Rev. 35 : isdi kussi sarrutisu tabis sursidi, " the foundation of the throne of
his kingdom well do thou secure ! "
5. ciri ezzuti : ideogr. QIR RUS : see Pi. 210 for the second sign. Besides the
bull-colossi, huge serpents were set up at the gates of Babylonian temples and
palaces, and also at the city gates, as appears from I'hillipps, i, 44 sq. See also
Nerigl. i, 21 sqq. ; 2 R. 19, 15 b (Del. PD. 14, 6) ; Neb. Bab. 2, 8 sq.
10. ztSatHf : Chald. |*"in, " to make or set straight or level." Sarg. Cyl. 6 ;
St. 56, 64.
12. iahlubtn : "covering," from Ijalabu, " to cover." Sarg. Cyl. 7; whence
tahliUit, "roof," Sil. 39.
13. askiippn : the third sign on the stone, and in the O.B. text, is te, a scribe's
error for t/J> : cf. 8, 7. Tg. N'SlpD^N, pi. Pr. viii, 34. ^niQIpDN*, "threshold."
iiukuSu : loan-word from .Sum. NU = la, "nol,"KUSA, "resting:" see note on
I, II. Syn. of w/r datii, " yoke of the door," and iiiurini dalti, " upholder of the
door:" 2 R. 23, 40 sq. c.d.
14. cma : this prep, recurs, 8. 8 ; 9, 16. R. HDy = DDJ?.
15. ertitti : impf II, 1 oi ritji : sec 4, 13.
16. eqdu : Tigl. 6, 77 ina libbi'a iq-di, "in my stout heart (courage)." Cf.
•■^SS-t "to knot a cord," "tie it firmly, fast, or strongly;" of liquids, "to
thicken," "become hard." jJLc > "strong," of a camel. The idea of twisting
and knotting denotes strcngtJi, firmness, in other terms, e.g., >in and 2^ •J •
1x6
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
17. ezzu : Heb. ?y. Seziizii : shaf. verbal from nazdzu, like si7^urz(, "costly,"
Surdii, " gx&sX;" Siituru, "gigantic." USziz (18) = uSdziz = zcSanzz'z, Shaf. impf.
of naz&zu; Tigl. Quelleninschr. has uSeziz, " I set up." The intrans. use of Shaf.
is like that of Hif. in certain Heb. verbs.
22. GI-AK (? ME ; cf. Syll. S*" 294), i.e., qan tahazi, as the parallels 8, 42 ; 9,
40, show. GI = qanu, "reed;" ME = tahazu, "battle." AK is a scribe's error.
23. dahe : imf. I. ofi<m, " to approach ; " str. "toclose up to," "thrustat,"
cf. Germ, anstossen. dih and dihi are used as preps, "before," " near," of place ;
as we say ^^ abutting on." 4 R. 10, 61 Obv, abki-ma ana itate'a ul idhu, "I
wept, and to my side none came."
25. gagarii : = qaqqaru, "ground," "floor," Tigl. 7, 76. Cj. Arab. J. J
" level ground. " Heb. yj^lp.
27. nisis : adv. of nisi}, "remote." 28. dilra: i.e., Nimittibel (?).
32. aqsiir: the middle sign on the stone is su, not zii as at 5.30; the R,
therefore, may be the same as that of Heb. "^pp^, " to bind ; " cf. '^^!\>7\\, of a wall ;
Neh. iii, 38. But perhaps the word is aksur, from "lD3 = Heb. Tii'B ; "I made
straight;" and perhaps sii is a scribe's error, the difference on the stone being
slight.
35. Sadlati : adj. f pi. ofSadlit, "broad," "wide;" f. Sadiltu ; e.g., cir irciti
gadilti, "over the broad earth'' ( = rapasti): masc. pi. sadlnti. Cf. jjjw:
''to let loose, let down," a garment, the hair, a curtain ; and Aram. 7'nt;', "to
persuade," the root meaning of which, like nnS, may be " to lie open."
39. aSSu™=z.m. su, "for this (object)," followed by the infin. ; Sarg. Cyl. 41,
52. Abi: D''2''X;'Tigl. i, 8, 11.
labanit : 2 R. 27, No. 3, 37, ana ilisu ina unnini appasu ilabbin " to his god
with supplication he casteth down his face." Cf. Arab. A percussit vehementer
aliquem, cecidit fuste. The Assyr. phrase labane pani'^ is lit. percellere vultumj
"to beat down the face," z.^., " to daunt," "dispirit," "discourage," percellere
animos ; or (2), as here, " to be downcast," " to look discouraged," animo per-
culsum esse.
42. gibsu: " thickness," " bulk;" Sarg. Cyl. 37, ki gibiS ede, gleich der Masse
der Meeresfluth (Lyon.). The adj. gabsu seems to be a syn. oi gimrii, "total;"
ummanat ilu Asur gabsati adki : " The armies of Assur en masse I levied." Sarg.
46. j)'(2'a:rr«< = ya'aru = "lX^ ; cf. iaUiri, in inscr. of Rimmon-nirari, 4 R, 44, 21.
tnartu, " bitterness;" cf. nam narrdtii, the name of the Persian Gulf.
47. biituqtu: Fl. compares KpT'2, and renders " Ueberschwemmung." But
/JiJU means " to make an opening for water by breaking through a bank or dam,"
and is also used of the stream itself bursting its barriers : see Lane. Cf. p.H^,
confodit, Ez. xvi, 40 ; and fj""]^^ I rupit. 4 R. 10, 38 Rev. ina me subtaqti nadi
qassu 9abat, "into the waters of a flood he is cast ; take thou his hand !"
49. Sipku : " an outpouring," " covering," from Sapdku, ausgiessen, beschiitten,
belegen ; Tigl.; Heb. "^5^. Epiri, plur. of epru, "dust," "ISV ; elsewhere,
eprati, miSy.
117
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
[1S87.
50. aStappak : Ifteal (I, 2) pres. ol SapAku.
53. ma^cartu : R. nafdnt, " to defend," " protect." Fl. " das Bollwerk. " Cf.
nifirtti, in 1. 56, where it seems to mean " fortress." Flood, i, 9, ar?iat nifirtt =
"tale of my protection." Elsewhere the term means "treasure" (= what is
guarded).
57. Tdln-sulmrSu ( = "Fair is its beauty," supru, ><^S1C')j was the name of
the outer wall of Borsippa.
59. eSSiS : essu, "new," essutu, "newness," also occur. R. adaSii = ^ir\
(Tigl. 8, 55, luddis, " may he renew !").
Column VII.
sar Babili
sa ilu Marduk belu rabCi
a-na dam-ga-a-ti ali-su
Babili ib-bu-su a-na-ku-ma
5 E-SAG-ILLAu(E)-ZI-DA
ki-ma sa-ru-ru ihi sam-(su)
u-se-bi
es-ri-e-ti ilani rabfiti
tam-mi-is u-na-am-mi-ir
pa-na-ma ul-tu u-um ul-lu-ti
10 a-di pa-li-e
tin Nabiu"-pal-u-^u-ur sar
TIN-TIR-KI
a-bi a-li-[dij-ia
sar rani ma-du-ti a-lik mah-ri-ia
sa i-lu a-na sar-ru — ti"'
15 iz-ku-ru zi-ki-ir-su-un
i-na alani ni-i§ i-ni-su-nu
a-sa-ar is-ta-a-mu
ekallate i-te-ib-bu-su
ir-mu-u su-ba-at-su-un
20 bu-sa-su-nu'" i-na ki-ir-bi
u-na-ak-ki-mu
u-ga-ri-nu ma-ak-ku-ur-su-un
i-na i-si-ni-" ZAG-MU-KU
ta-bi-e ilu bel ilani ilu Marduk
ki?tg of Babylon,
whom Aferodach, the great Lord,
for the weal of his city
Babylon called, am I.
Esagilla atid Ezida
like the brilliance of the sun I made
shine.
The temples of the great gods
like day 1 7iiade bright.
Formerly, from days of yore,
to the reign
of Nabopalassar, king of Babylon,
the father that begot me,
the many kings my predecessors,
whom the god to sovereignty
summoned by their ?iame,
in their favourite cities,
in a place they determined on,
palaces they built themselves,
they set up their abode.
Their wealth 7vithi?i
they heaped up ;
they piled their substance.
On the feast of Zagmuku,
the merrymaking of the lord of
the gods, Merodach,
18
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
25 i-ru-bu a-na ki-ir-bi SU-AN-
NA-KI
is-tu ib-na-an-ni ilii Marduk
a-na sar-ru-u-ti
ihi Nabiu" a-bi-il-su ki-i-nu'"
ip-ki-du ba-u-la-a-tu-su
30 ki-ma na-ap-sa-ti a-gar-ti
a-ra-mu ba-na a-la-an-su-un
e-li TIN-TIR-KI u Bar-
zi-pa
ul u-sa-pa al mati"'
i-na Babili
35 al ni-is ena-ia sa a-ra-am-ma
ekalla bit ta-ab-ra-a-ti ni-si
ma-ar-ka-sa ma-da
ku-um-mu el-la'"
ad-ma-ni™ sar-ru-ti
40 i-na ir-gi-ti Babili
sa ki-ri-ib Babili
is-tu Im-gur-////-Bel
a-di Li-bi-il-he-gal-la
pa-al-ga ilu samsi agi
45 is-tu s 1 ^' \ nari Buratti
a-di a-a-i-bur-sa-bu-u
sa ilu Na-bi-u'^-pal-u-gu-ur
sar TIN-TIR-KI a-ba ba-
nu-u-a
i-na libitti ib-si-mu-ma
50 i-ir-mu-u ki-ir-ib-sa
i-na me-e mi-lu™
i-si-id-sa i-ni-is-ma
i-na ta-am-li-e
su-li-e Babili
55 sa ekalli sa-a-ti™
is-ta-ap-pi-la babe-sa
i-ga-ru-sa bi-si-ti libitti
they entered Babylon,
From the time that Merodach
created ??ie,
for sovereignty ;
(from the time that) Nebo his true
son
committed his subjects [to me) ;
like dear life
love I the building of their cities :
besides Bal>ylo?i and Borsippa,
I did not beautify a city of the land.
In Babylon,
my favourite city, which I love,
the palace, the house of the gazings
of the people,
the bond of the country,
the splendid mansion,
the abode of royalty,
in the land of Babylon,
that is in the fnidst of Babylonia,
from Imgurbel
to Libilhegalla,
the canal of the sufirising,
from the batik of the Euphrates
to A-ibur-sabi} ;
which Nabopalassar
king of Babylon, the father who
begot me,
ivith brick had erected, and
dzvelt therein ;
by the waters of a flood
its foundation was weakened, and
through the raising
of the causeivay of Babylon,
of that palace
low had become the gates of it :
its ritig-wall with brick 7naterial{J)
19 N
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCII.EOLOGV. [1887.
at-ki-e-ma / set np, and
te-me-en-sa at-te-e-ma its substructure I demolished, and
60 §u-pu-ul me-e ak-su-ud the bottom of the water I reached ;
mi-ih-ra-at me-e i-si-id-sa over against the water its foufida-
tion
u-sa-ar-si-id-ma I firmly laid, and
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri loith gypsum and brick
Notes to Column VI I.
4. iblmSii : = inbii-su, from nalu't, " to call," "name," " speak;" K33. The
middle sign bu is defaced on the stone by a hole which has caused the disappear-
ance of the E of Ezidda in line 5, and almost that of the final character of
DINGIR UT [su?] in 1. 6. In 1. 7 the rough space between DINGIR and
GAL-GAL was left vacant by the scribe as elsewhere. Old Bab. has lu, an error
for ku.
6. Sariirii: i'^;^ note on 2, 53. i<sehi—uScpi, impf. Ill, i of a/z/^VQ^. y^plH,
9. pana: "aforetime," D^^Qp- With emphasizing enclitic ma.
12. Midi: A slight trace of di is left on the stone, although the published
copy omits it altogether.
13. f?!ddtlti = ma'duti, pi. of ma'du, multus (TXP). vial^ri : the sign mah is
partly defaced on the stone.
15. izkuru : so the stone, quite plainly. The er oi i R. (see ER-ER in next
line) is a " Schreibfehler," not of the Babylonian scribe, but of his modern copyists.
16. dlchii, pi. of «/«, city;" S^ 261. URU | a-lu">. Written URU-URU.
Cf. Ar. JT.
niS hti-Sunu : lit. " the lifting up of their eye," i.e., whom they regard, on
whom their eye is set. The gods look aiuay from those whom they dislike ; and
look iipon the objects of their favour.
17. aSar : constr. before Relat. clause. iStamii: pres. I 2, o{ sAnin, " to fi.K,"
"settle," n''K'.
18. etebbuSu : pres. I 2, oicpisu, "to make" (Samarit. DSy, tetigit, tractavit,
Gen. iv, 31).
19. irmil : Dan. vii, 9, Y'0~\ pDI^, "thrones were set up.'' RamA is also
" to inhabit."
20. btiSd : Habe, Tigl. I, 83 ; 93 ; Flood, 2, 39.
21. unakkimti : impf. II, i o{ nakAviu ; Tigl. 8, 68.
22. ugarinu : = *uqarn)iu, impf. II, i of qat-ihtti, syn. of the common term
nakdmti, " to heap up ;" Tigl. 2, 22 ; 3, 54 ; 4, 19 ; quruntu, (|urunate, " heap,"
" pile," of corpses. Cf. ^li , junxit unam rem altcri ; j^i J , //• j^^i^ JJ 5 iv'» jJ »
parvus mons ; Isa. v. I, pp. Makkuru : R. "130 ; cf. tiamkun-u, Tigl. 3, 3, 10.
Heb. 130.
120
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
24. tabu: " Vermag ich nicht zu erklaren. " (Fl.) R. yiH ; Targ. Isa. xvi, 10,
nnni V^l " mirth and joy ;" Isa. xxii, 13 ; Jer. vii, 34, Prov. x.
29. ba'iil&tu: Untertanen, Tigl. i, 33. R. y^l.
31. Fl. divides ba-na-a lansun, " zu bauen ihren Vorhof ;'''' lanu, "a fore-
court," Accad. E-GAR.
33. tiSdpd: impf. Ill, i of apil { = uSawpi'a) ; Heb. J?D\ In 1. 6 we had
tcS^pi, as an alternative form ; just as aSdbit, 3ti'% makes usdsib and tiSeSib (Tigl.
7, 35, 112). In the Creation Tablet i, the Shaf. pf. and Isht. impf. occur, in the
sense of " coming out," " coming into being :" 7- enuma ilani la Silpil manama,
" when none of the gods had come into existence ; " 10. ilu Lahmu ilu Lahamu
uStdpil, " Lahmu and Lahamu emerged "... and in 4 R. 2, 5/6 a. Si7pil is
equated with e, the Sum. for a5u, " to go out." See also 4 R. 26, 25/26 a ; e = u55u,
and ibid. 17/18 e = uppu. On this account Fl. renders: " erschuf ich mir nicht
eine Landeshauptstadt." But Silpii is intrans. in the Creation Tablet, as also in
Tigl. 7, 93 ; and Phillipps 3, 42, does not necessitate this rendering. Possibly uSdpd
here, and in Phillipps I.e., may be rather Shaf. of apil = pi^i ; Arab. -J»
" to be completed," "perfect." Cf. also 5 R. 21, 18 a. b. ud-du (e) = su-bu-u.
35. ahmi nts endya: see on 1. 16. NiSu is from naSii, "to lift up," as Fl,
takes it : Gegenstand der Augenerhebung, 4, 9, 60 : nis gati'a.
36. The last character is apparently 4^ Su, not si as usual. A hole in the
stone follows.
37. viarkasa: 2 R. 31, No. 2, 10 e. f. =KU and LUGAL.
38. kiunnm: perhaps — tectum, "dwelling;" cf. C texit. The meaning
is certain from 4 R. 2, Col. v, 34, 35, be ab-zu-ta E-NUN-ta e-a-mes = i-na na-qab
ap-si-i i-na ku-um-me ir-bu-u-su-nu, "in the well of the Ocean, in a great house
grew they up. "
45. GU =: ahii, "bank," "shore," and kisddii, do. ID-SEMBIR = nar
UT-KIB-NUN-KI
Sipar ki, "river of Sepharvaim," i.e., the Euphrates.
51. mihi^ = *miru, "fullness," "overflow," "flood;" Shalmaneser says
(KAT. 193): Jidni Burat ina meliSa ebir : " I crossed the Euphrates at its flood-
tide." Cf. Syr. \\\^ Luke vi, 48; and the Heb. phrase J^ijD ''O Ps. Ixiii, 10.
52. inis: impf. I, i of andsit, baufallig sein. Tigl. 6, 100, ensiiti. Sarg.
Cyl. 4, enSiltu, Schwache; 50 enSu, schwach, 2 R. 48, 19-21 g.h.
59. atte: impf. I, i of iiiti} — yn3 1*03. But r/I 5 R. 21, c.d. 16 : a-tu-u
syn. with btitc and mibuStc ; ? "to dig up," "disinter;" Ar. ijLJJ • Flemming:
seinen Unterbau untersuchte ich ; Ift. von a'li = 0^P '. I, 3, inspexit. Comp.
^^_ indicavit = iljn . Lotz and others render temennu, Denkstein (Tigl. 8,
43); Eckstein, Grundstein (Sarg. Cyl. 61, 71). Perhaps the meaning is " I raised
the foundation stone;" cf. Arab. Ukj elatus est, eminuit.
121 N 2
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1887.
Column VIII.
u-za-ak-ki-ir-sa
hu-ur-sa-ni-is
ipi erini dannuti a-na zu-lu-li-Su
u-sa-at-ri-ig
5 dalati t(u erini
ta-ah-lu-up-ti siparri
as-ku-up-pi u nu-ku-se-e
pi-ti-iq eri e-ma babe-su
e-ir-te-it-ti
10 kaspa huraga ni-si-ik abni
mi-im-ma su-um-su su-ku-ru
su-un-tu-lu
bu-sa-a ma-ak-ku-ru
si-ma-at ta-na-da-a-tu™
15 u-ga-ri-in ki-ri-ib-su
gu-ur-du ta-as-ri-ih-tu'"
ni-gir-ti sar-ru-ti
u-na-ak-ki-im qir-bu-us-su
as-sum ni-me-du sar-ru-ti-ia
20 i-na ali sa-nim-ma
la i-ra-am-mu libbu
i-na ka-al da-ad-mi
ul ab-na-a ad-ma-nu be-lu-ti
ma-ak-ku-ru si-ma-at sar-ru-ti
25 ul as-ta-ak-ka-an
ki-ir-bi ma-ti-ta-an
i-na Babili
ku-um-mu mu-sa-bi-ia
a-na si-ma-at sar-ru-ti-ia
30 la su-um-ga
as-sum bu-lu-uh-ti ilu Marduk
beli-ia
ba-su-u li-ib-bu-u-a
i-na Babili
al ni-gi-ir-ti-su
35 a-na gu-un-tu-la™
su-ba-at sar-ru-ti-ia
su-uk-su la e-ni™
/ reared it high
as the wooded hills.
Stout cedars for the roqfifig of it
I laid oti.
Doors of cedar
{with) a plating of copper,
lintels a7id hinges
of hronze-zuork, aroimd its gates
I set up.
Silver, gold, precious stones,
everything whose 7iame is prized,
is lifted tip {or, regarded) ;
suhsta7ice, wealth,
tokens of niagnifcejice,
I heaped up within it ;
strength, anight,
royal treasure,
I hoarded within it.
For the throjie of my royalty
171 another city,
which {77iy) heart loveth 7iot ;
in no dwelli7igplaces
built I an abode of lordship :
riches, insignia of royalty,
I place 7wt
up and down the country.
In Babylon,
the 7na7ision of 7/iy abode,
{the i7isig7iia of my royalty
7iot to let man f7id ;)
for that the fear of Merodach 77iy
lord
tvas tvithin 77ie ; —
in Babylon,
his fe7iced city,
to lift up
the seat of 77iy royalty ;
his street I lowered fiot,
22
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
parak-su la u-ni-is
pa-la-ga-su la e-iz-ki-ir
40 ku-um-mu ra-at-si-is
as-te-'-e-ma
as-sum ga-an ta-ha-zi
a-na Im-gur-z7z(!-Bel
dur TIN - TIR - KI la da-hi-e
45 IV.C.LX.XXX am-ma-at ga-
ga-ri
i-ta-at ni-mi-it-ti-//«-Bel
sa-al-hi-e Babili
a-na ki-da-a-ni™
II ka-a-ri danntl-ti'^
50 i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
diira sa-da-ni-is e-pu-us-ma
i-na bi-e-ri-su-nu
bi-ti-iq a-gur-ri e-ip-ti-iq-ma
i-na ri-e-si-su ku-um-mu ra-ba-a
55 a-na su-ba-at sar-ru-ti-ia
i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
sa-ki-is e-pu-us-ma
it-ti ekal abi u-ra-ad-di-ma
in arhi sa-al-mu i-na umi damqi
60 i-sid-sa i-na i-ra-at ki-gal-lu
u-sa-ar-si-id-ma
ri-e-si-sa u-za-ak-ki-ir
hu-ur-sa-ni-is
i-na XV u-um si-bi-ir-sa
his shrine I seized ?iof,
his canal I filled ?iot up (?) ;
a house {site\ steadily (?)
/ soug/il after. And
that shaft of battle
to Imgurbel,
the wall of Babylon, might not
reach ;
for 490 cubits of ground,
on the flanks of Nimittibel,
the outer wall of Babylon,
for cover
of the two strong walls,
with gypsu7ti and brick
a ratnpart 7nou7itain-like I made.
Afid
in the middle of thefn
a structure of brick I co?istructed,
and
on the top of it a great house,
for the seat of my royalty,
with gypsum and brick
loftily I ?nade, and
with my father's palace I joined
(it), and
in a salutary month, on a lucky day,
the fotmdation of it in the bosom of
broad Earth
I firmly laid, and
the top of it I reared
high as the wooded hills.
On the i^th day, the ivork of it
Notes to Column VIII.
11. mimnia: Tigl. 8, 70. Lit. in Heb. IC^ li^; 1^i<"^3 HX.
12. Suntuht: = shaf. adj. from natalu = ?D3, Dan. iv, 31, Heb., Is. xl, 15;
" to lift up;" Syr. ^\^\J "to be heavy." In Flood I, 2 natalu means, "to
look at;" and ^toitie/u mzy thus — spectabilis. Fl. " Grossartiges."
123
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OK BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1887.
14. UB — ta-na-ad-tu™, 2 R. 35, No. 2 (syn. te-il-tu"", nu'udu).
16. qurdu: Kraft, Tigl. 8, 39. taSrihtu^, not " Glanz " (Fl.); Sardliu is "to
be strong:" see viuStarfiu, 9, 48, the ptcp. II, 2 (2 R. 48, 46/47 e f).
19. 7iimedu: a syn. oi parakktt, 2 R. 33, 67/70 ab., and apparently also of
subtu, "seat," and ipratu, "ground," ib. 68, 69. Does it mean "pedestal" or
" platform," "dais?" or " exaltation? " kiissu nimedi'vi acommon phrase; Sanh.
3, 36; 2 R. 23, 4 a.b. (kussu = 5ubtu|; ibid., 71 c.d.).
20. S&ni-ina: 5&nu &ani, "second; " &ina, "two," 2 R. 18, 40 b, iln Ninkigal
al-ti, (= assati) ilii Ninazu panisu ana asri sa-nim-ma likun! "may N. consort
of N. set his face toward another place ! "
25. aStakkaii: pres. I, z oi Sakdnu.
26. Fl. "da und dort in den Landern." For the form vidtiidn, see Abp.
138, 83. A distributive adv. = matati matati. Cf. tdn added to numerals =
" in bulk," " in number."
30. This and the preceding line express a purpose, parallel to 35, 36.
31, 32 are a parenthesis, necessitating the repetition of 27 {^t, sq.) Siimcd:
infin. Ill, I of ?na(i), X^'D; Tigl. i, 12, i?m§i»!fil nial lihbi "(Nineb), that
causeth to find whatever the heart desires." The King required a castle, "not
to let (the robber's hand) find his royal treasures." " To find " is to obtain, get
possession of . . . 2 Sam. xx, 6. Is. x, 14: D''»yn h^xh n'' |p3 SVDni (Fl., "das
seines Gleichen nicht finden liisst (?)"). We might also comp. • abiit,
praeterut.
37. s-tikti : "street," p-V^. £ni: impf. I, i of ^;/« — [^ njy. See4R.
2) 5) 53: su-ruq da-la-hi ina su-ki it-ta-na-za-zu su-nu, "an outpouring of terror "
(c/. pnp and Sm'p'n ; e.^g:, ''pnOTT "dread of demons"), "in the street they take
their stand ! " (Not, "um die Wege zu verwiisten"). Sum. e-sir-ra lu-lu-a sil-a
du-ba-mes.
38. tmis: Impf. II, i of 7idSu = ^JjIj? or ^JjU vi cepit. Qr. perhaps =
D13, "I disturbed not;" or uniS = unnis, impf. II, i of and^ii, "to be
weak," of buildings, "dilapidated:" "I pulled not down" (Fl. "riss nicht
nieder ").
39. ezkir : i.e., azqir, "I raised;" or perhaps azkir = <■. implevit. Fl.
"verschloss. "
40. 41. Fl. " vermag ich nicht zu erklaren." The term ratSiS, radsis, or ratsis
is difficult. The above translation supposes the R. uc, ; radsis might mean
" in a proper way," being formed by transposition from 1C*"I iXL . > "to take the
right way, course or direction;" while ratSiS might perhaps signify " like one
forsaken," [I^''P"). The general sense is that N. did not unlawfully appropriate
a site for his palace; but was at the pains to find a lawful one.
45. Flemming thinks that the 490 cubits are the width of the space between
the two great walls, Imgurbel and Nimittibel ; and that the two kdri of v. 49
are those of the moat of Imgurbel (5, 28).
124
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
52. ina heri-siinu : inabirit is also used; R. N"Q. '''13> "to cut," "pierce,"
" sever."
59. UD-SEGA = umu damqu or tabu. Cf. the Heb. phrase 2113 QV "a
festival."
60. irat : est. oiirtu, Tigl. i, 67. Kigallu : Sum. KI, "place," "earth," and
GAL, "great;" a loan-word like fiigallu and ekallu. Cf. Phillips 3, 32 sq. in ■
kigalla" resti"", in irat ir9iti'" rapasti", where the second line is epexegetical of
the first. Nerigl. i, 32.
64. This confirms the statement of Berosus that N. built his palace beside his
father's in fifteen days.
Column IX.
u-sa-ak-li-il-ma
u-sa-pa-a su-bat be-lu-ti
i^u erini dannu-ti
gi-i-ti sa-di-i e-lu-ti
5 igu a-su-hu pa-ak-lu-ti
u igu su-ur-mi-ni
ni-is-ki bi-e-ru-ti™
a-na zu-lu-li-sa u-sa-at-ri-ig
dalati igu mis-ma-kan-na
10 igu e-ri-ni™ icu su-ur-mi-ni
u-sa-a u sin piri
i-hi-iz ka-as-pa hu-ra-gu
u ta-ah-lu-ub-ti siparri
as-ku-ub-bu u nu-ku-se-e
15 bi-ti-iq e-ri-i
e-ma babe-sa ir-te-it-te-ma
ki-li-li abnu ukni ri-sa-a-sa
u-sa-al-mi
dtira da-an-ni™
20 i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
sa-da-ni-is u-sa-as-hi-ir-su
i-ta-at dur a-gur-ri
dlira ra-ba-a
i-na ab'ni dannii-ti"'
25 si-ti-iq sadi rabuti
e-pu-us-ma
Ifi?iished, and
perfected the seat of lordship.
Strofig male cedars,
the grozuth of high mountains,
huge female cedars,
and cypresses,
costly stones glittering,
for the roofing of it I laid on.
Doors of palm,
cedar, cypress,
usu a?id ivory,
the frame of silver {and) gold,
and the platitig copper ;
the lintel and hinges
bronze-work
roimd the gates of it I set up, and
with a cornice of onyx its top
I surrounded.
A strong wall
in gypstwi and brick
mountain-like I threza around it.
On the fia7iks of the wall of brick,
a great wall
with htige stones,
the yield of great mountains,
I made, and
125
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY,
[1887.
ki-ma sa-di-i™
u-ul-la-a ri-e-sa-a-sa
bita sa-a-ti a-na tab-ra-a-ti
30 u-se-pi-is-ma
a-na da-ga-lu kissat ni-si
lu-li-e us-ma-al-la"^
bal-ti uz-zu bu-luh-ti
me-lam-me sar-ru-ti
35 i-ta-ti-su sa-ah-ra-a-ma
ra-ag-gu la i-sa-ra
ul i-ba-' ki-ri-ib-su
sa li-im-nu la-ba-ne pa-ni""
i-ta-a-ti diir Babili
40 ga-an ta-ha-zi-su
u-sa-as-si-ma
al irgiti Babili
u-da-an-ni-in
hu-ur-sa-ni-is
45 a-na ihc Marduk be-ili-ia
ut-ni-en-ma ga-ti as-si
ilu Marduk belu SI-GAL ilani
ru-bu-u mu-us-ta-ar-ha
at-ta ta-ab-na-an-ni-ma
50 sar-ru-ti kissat ni-si
ta-ki-pa-an-ni
ki-ma na-ap-sa-ti a-ga-ar-ti
a-ra-mu e-la a-la-an-ka
e-li ali-ka Babili
55 i-na ka-la da-ad-mi
ul u-sa-pa al ir9iti
ki-ma sa a-ra-am-ma
bu-lu-uh-ti i-lu-ti-ka
as-te-ni-'-u be-lu-ut-ka
like a mountain
I raised its head.
That house for gazings
I caused to be ?nadc, and,
for the beholding of the multitude
of the people,
tuith an abundance {of objects') I
had {it) filed.
The awe of potver, the dread
of the splendour of sovereignty,
its sides begird, and
the bad imrighteous nia?i
Cometh fiot within it.
To dautit the e}ie??iy,
I caused the sides of the wall of
Babylon
to keep far off
his battle-shaft, and
the capital of the coufitry, Babylon,
I made strofig
as the wooded hills.
To Aferodach, my lord,
I made supplication, and lifted up
my hand :
" Merodach, lord, gracious 07ie of
the gods,
mighty prince !
Thou it 7uas that createdst me, and
with the sovereignty of the luulti-
tude of the people
didst invest tne.
Like dear life
I love the exaltation of thy cities.
Besides thy city of Babylon
af?iong all the diuelling-places
I created not a capital.
Like as I love
the fear of thy godhead,
{and) seek xinto thy lordship ;
126
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
60 mu-gu-ur ni-is ga-ti-ia favourably regard the lifting np of
7ny hand,
si-ma-a su-bu-u-a hear my prayer !
a-na-ku lu sarru za-ni-nu'° I verily am the maintaitiing king,
mu-ti-ib li-ib-bi-ka that 7naketh glad thine heart ;
lu sa-ak-ka-na-ak-ku it-bi-su the wary city-zvarden,
65 za-ni-na ka-la ma-ha-zi-ka that maintaineth all thy towns.
Notes to Column IX.
4. pti: " offspring," soboles ; rf. fi( libbiya, I R. 68, col. 2, 26.
5. aBAlu: Chald. fnitTN* : see Shabb. 157 a, •'Hlt^NI msa, "with male and
female cedars." paklu .• = esqu(u), and syn. of dannu ; 2 R. 31, 67 d, e.
6. SilrviUii: ox pine. t{3*2"11tr, Gitt. 68 b. N'Jin-lt:', Tg.
7. MrCtti^, pi. of beru, "clear," "bright;" R. ini ; cf. Heb. THS, Chald.
S'l^n?. Esarh. 3, 22, abni beruti ; Neb. Bab. 2, 19, ina supul me beruti, "at
the bottom of the clear water." The "glistening stones" need not have been
gems. Marbles, crystal, and alabaster were costly in Chaldea.
11. uSd: Sargon also used this wood, Cyl. 63. The ideogr. GiS-DAN means
"hard wood." Hence Schrader thinks of the oak or terebinth. So far as the
form goes, the word I'lSii exactly corresponds to ^^D^?, myrtus, Sanh. 44a, the Syr.
j£D|, and Arab. ^^' . The myrtle is rather a shrub than a tree, but the transfer
of the names of trees is common in language (fagus and ^jjyoc). Cf. also the
Egyptian dS, of which temple doors were made. Sin piri: Sum. SU-AMA-SI.
12. ihzu: " holder," from abazu : THK. Fl. Einfassung, Rand.
15. eri-i=e.x\-e [^ = S^fy].
17. kilili: i</V?, fl^^O, corona.
22. itdt : is not sing. (Fl. ), but plur. oiittu, "side."
35. sahrd : perf. I, i fem. 3 plur. "IflD.
37. ibd^ : pres. I, i of i5aV< = X13. Flood 2, 49, iba'tt.
38. For the order, cf. 4 R. 2, 5, 49 : sa ilu E-a lim-nu-ti su-nu, " Of Ea foes
are they ! " (DINGIR-ENKIGAL SlSSI-MES.)
46. ^i3^2'=qati'a? comp. Tg. and Talm. XOp, "handle." aS&i : impf. I, i of
naSii = i(^^.
48. musfarha = mustairiha., ptcp. II, 2 (2 R. 48/47 e f). Tigl. 5, 66 = multarhi.
60. The stone, as well as the two copies, has za-ni-/ir, by an obvious confusion
of very similar characters. Cf. Bors. 2, 39 : Sarni zaninan.
64. l/t : Betheuerungspartikel, wahrlich, ja (Schrader).
Sakkanakku : I, 11. Cf. S** 2, 14 ni-e | <^*- | e-mu-qu.
itbiSii = etpeSu : Sanh. i, 3, re'u" etp. ; Sarg. Cyl. 34, sarru it-pi-e-su. Lyon
suggests a verb epHu — K'Dn, meaning " sinnen, forschen," and renders itpeSu,
" verstandig." He refers to 5 R. 13, 39 b, where ippeSu is syn. with eniqti, mMd,
Jiassu, mdr um?ndni (Kunstfertig) and /v/ tcrti (Gesetzgeber, Schriftgelehrter).
65. mahdzu: Taan. 32b. NTirUDT W3, "the gate of the town:" pi. l''tinp
The Chaldee term also means "street," "market," "province."
127
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1887.
Column X.
itti bi-tu-uk-ka
ri-mi-nu-u ilu Marduk
bit e-bu-su
ga-du ul-lu li-bu-ur-ma
5 la-la-a-sa lu-us-bi-im
i-na ki-ir-bi-sa
si-bu-ti lu-uk-su-ud
lu-us-ba-a li-it-tu-ti
sa sarrani kib-ra-a-ti
10 sa ka-la te-ni-se-e-ti
bi-la-at-su-nu ka-bi-it-ti
lu-um-hu-ur ki-ir-bu-us-sa
is-tu isid same a-di elat same
e-ma ilu samsi a-zu-u
15 a-a i-si na-ki-ri
mu-gal-li-ti a-a ar-si
li-bu-u-a i-na ki-ir-bi-sa
a-na da-er-a-ti
9a-al-ma-at ga-ga-da li-bi-e-lu
With fhi?ie house,
O merciful Ofie, Merodach,
may the house I have ynade
to etertiity endure ! and
with the fulness thereof may I be
satisfied, and
in the midst tliereof
hoar age may I reach /
May I be satisfied with children !
Of the kings of the countries
of all ma?ikind
their heavy tribute
may I receive within it I
From the foufidatiofi of heaven to
the zenith,
{and) by the rising sun,
may I have no enemies,
foeman may 1 have none !
My posterity witliin it
for evermore
over men may they rule / "
Notes to Column X.
1. Or ki-bi-tu-uk-ka, " (according to) thy command." Qihilu from R. qibf(,
S.2p, " to say," " tell," " bd." Sarg. CyL 63, 75.
^ o ^
2. riminil: " loving," " merciful ;" R. 7-d??iu = 'Dr\^: Comp. ^^W*- . •
4. gadu: = adi ; "unto," "with," " together with : " Abp. 3, 131 ; 4, 97, etc.
Itbur = lu + ihir : precative of iberti, "I3y, like lipiis. We should have
expected libir ; but the special sense, " may it pass on, or forward ! " may have
determined the variation in form. (The Heb. ")3y means not only to pass over,
but to pass through, by, away, on, forward ; and the Bab. term may well have
been used as freely.) 2 R. 4, 726, gives a verb ab&rii as syn. of naSil, " to lift,"
and S&qii, "lofty" (1. 722 and 727). This would give the sense, "may it be
exalted," " may it tower on high !" Or is abdru, " to be strong "? 5, 9, supr.
5. luSbi^ : precative I, i of Seliil = V^^ (2 R. 24, 54 ab. Sum.. ESSA, syn. of
bar/i, "to be fat," K'n3, and Ihiiu. (Is this last the R. of limu, qs. pinguis,
gravis, magnas ?)
7. sibltiu : obviously n 2 ''p' "hoar hair," "age." Cf. ii\h\i, "grandfather,"
gilHu, "grandmother; Syr. .«-~ilrf> l^rft scncx; Elh. I'lPf] : canuit ; l^nT •
canities, Arab. ( j\^ , ^ ^s.z>, , jJL^-, id., id.
128
Dec 6.] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
kaSadu: "to arrive," "come to;" then "to get," "win," "take," a city,
booty, etc. (A very common term of unknown origin, Eth. Yli^,^ • "neck,"
being the only apparent cognate = kisddu, do.).
8. littuti: not litu, Macht, Tigl. i, 56, pi. ///(///, 6,50; Fl. " moge ich mich
weiden an (meinen) Grosstaten ! " but from littu, " offspring; " either as plur., or
an abstr. pro. concr. See 2 R. 29, e.f. 67 sqq.
li-i-tu
li-it-tu
li-da-a-tu
na-ab-ni-tu
i-li-it-tu ["offspring."]
ki-i-mu
ki-ma-tu
li-i-mu
ki-im-tu [" family."]
[Heb. Di<?.]
R. aladti, 1^1. Cf. Ps. xvii, 14: D''n \'^i^\ " They are satisfied with children. "
II. bilat-simu: Tigl. 2, 91. Biltii, "present," "offering," "tribute," R.
?3"l, like lidtii, from "7^^, ibtii, from 3111.
13. istu ANA-UR adi ANA- PA. See 2 R. 48, 45-48 cd. :
AD su-muq same ["redness of heaven: " NpDID, Ch. and Syr.]
AD-GrE-A su-muq bu-ru-me["do. of coloured robes," D'pilll, Ezek. xxvii, 24.]
ANA-PA e-lat same [" height of heaven," " zenith."]
ANA-SA-GA ki-rib same [" mid heaven."]
4 R. 28, 23, sq. b. ANA-UR-RA = ina i-sid same. 2 R. 62, 59 g.h. UR-MA.
14. As if he expected trouble from the East (Media?).
16. mugallitu: ptcp. II, i of qaldtu = ^_ .. __\'i periit, 4, perdidit, or of
galatu = Ar. galada, as kabdtu = Heb. kabed.
17. libu'a: for lipii, "descendant," lip lipi (like biii bini^), see Lotz, p. 174.
The term is here a plur. in — ii, or at least collect., as the verb (1. 19) is plur.
18. dfferati seems to point to a R. IXT as Haupt has suggested ; but cf. the
participle of the Hollow Verb in Syriac and Arabic. Adv. dan's, "for ever,"
da-ris, Tigl. i, 27, 38. Dd'erdti is a fern plur. oiddHru; cf. ga-i-du, " hunting,"
4 R. 27, No. 5, 23.
19. calmii : "black," f. ^alimtu", constr. galmat, here used collectively in the
common phrase "the black-headed (race)," z.^., mankind. Cf. Flood 2, 41 :
urpatu" 5alimtu™, "a dark cloud;" Sarg. St. 53; Myth. Tabl. ina pi 5almat
qaqqadi sa ibna qatasu, " in the mouth of Man, whom his hands created ; "
4 R. 29, 36 a. : amelutu" nisi jalmat qaqqadi, "mankind, people dark-headed."
(Eth. ^^^: "black;" Arab. 'L^ "darkness.")
: i-in»n inn
129
Dec. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1887.
^ An Inscribed Fragment of Wood from Thebes.
29, Weymouth Street,
Dear Mr. RylANDS, 121/1 November, 1887.
During last winter Mr. Greville Chester obtained whilst he
was in the neighbourhood of Thebes a flat piece of hard wood, ten-
and-a-half inches in length by one inch in width, bearing upon its
sides an inscription. It has now come into my possession, so I send
you this note of it, as it is worth placing upon record.
What it originally belonged to is somewhat perplexing : it may
have served for a pedestal for a figure, there being a small plughole
at one extremity, but as it is so narrow one can hardly assert it
positively; or it may have been a part of some piece of furniture.
At any rate it bears upon each of its sides a line of hieroglyphics very
carefully cut in the best style of workmanship of the XVIII Dynasty,
recording the names of Thothmes IV and Tut-anch-Amen, the son-
in-law of Chut-en-Aten.
I am, yours sincerely,
F. G. Hilton Price.
1 J - ^ - - f --
nutar nefer neb taiu neb ari x^t neb
God beautiful lord of hoo 7vorlds lord making things lord of
III
O
J-9 O
Xiiu Ra-xeperu neb se Ra en x^t-f meri-f
crowns. Son of the Sun of belly his loving him
set
C^Z-VflUl
neb en set neb Amen-tut-Anch heq Annu suten
lord of coiuitry every Tut-Amh-Amen ruler of Heliopolis Royal
m^^5^
semaiu mennu en atef-f neb taiu
restorer of mo?iufnents of fathers his lord of two earths
130
Dec. 6]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1887.
CHE] A f
0 iQ 1 >^ Q
Ra-men-xeperu neb x^^ Tehuti-mes ta anx
/ord of diadems Thothmes giver of life
\ "^
— U 1 O 0 A
fl "^r 1 ^ 1
tat usr amax ab-f hna ka Ra ma t'etta
stability aiid pozver dilates heart his and ka Sim like for ever.
1
mil
nutar nefer ari em aaiu-f en tef Amen
God beatitiful 7naki?ig with hands his of father Amen
ta
■^(sie) j
1 ^[TZ]
su her nest-f suten net Ra-xeperu-neb
places {he) him upon throjie his \ f"^. '^■' . f > Iid-xeperu-?ieb
se-Ra Amen-tut-anch heq Annu Suten smauiu
son of the Sun Tut Anch Amen ruler of Heliopolis Royal restorer
mennu
fe- m (AIB
suten net
en atef-f suten net Ra-men xepe^^^
of mo7iu?nents of fathers his \ ,"'° "J I. I Rd-7ne?i--\eperu
•' J J Y two countries J '^ -^
(ZMEEI A f
^ o
I
se Ra X^- Tehutimes x^u ta anch Ra ma
Son of the Sun Thothmes diademed with diadems giver of life Rd like
0
t'etta heh
for ever and ever.
13^
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1887.
Note on " Inscription at Ku.m-el-ahmar," p. 73.
Proceedings, \st November, 1887.
I ought to have stated in the text that the worship of Horus at
Nechen, under the form of a Hawk crouching, vX 3 V^, is of
immemorial antiquity. It is alluded to repeatedly in the Ritual of
the Pyramids. See Unas, line 433.
P. LE Page Renouf.
The Anniversary Meeting of the Society will be held at
9, Conduit Street, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesday, loth
January, 1888, at 8 p.m., when the Council and Officers of
the Society will be elected, and the usual business of the
Anniversary Meeting transacted.
The following paper will be read : —
MM. E. and V. Revillout : " Une Prophetic Messianique
Assyrienne."
ERRATA.
Proceedings, \st November, 1887.
Page 56, line 18, for Ksnenfi, read Kanenfi.
Page 76, line 20, for ^^ read \
Pag 77> line 20, after the word " extended," read " for me " (literally,
&c.).
132
Dec. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1887.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE
LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY.
BoTTA, Monuments de Ninive. 5 vols., folio. 1 847-1 850.
Place, Ninive et I'Assyrie, 1866-1869. 3 vols., folio.
Brugsch-Bey, Geographische Inschriften Altaegyptische Denkmaeler.
Vols. I— III (Brugsch).
Recueil de Monuments Eg)^ptiens, copie's sur lieux et
public's par H. Brugsch et J. Dumichen. (4 vols., and
the text by Dumichen of vols. 3 and 4.)
Dumichen, Historische Inschriften, &c., ist series, 1867.
2nd series, 1869.
Altaegyptische Kalender-Inschriften, 1866.
Tempel-Inschriften, 1862. 2 vols., folio.
GoLENiscHEFF, Die Metternichstele. FoHo, 1877.
Lepsius, Nubian Grammar, &:c., 1880.
De Rouge, Etudes Egyptologiques. 13 vols., complete to 1880.
Wright, Arabic Grammar and Chrestomathy.
ScHROEDER, Die Phonizische Sprache.
Haupt, Die Sumerischen Familiengesetze.
ScHRADER, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament. 1872.
Rawlinson, Canon, 6th Ancient Monarchies.
PiERRET, Dictionnaire d'Archeologie Egyptienne. 8vo. Paris, 1875.
BuRKHARDT, Eastern Travels.
AViLKiNSON, Materia Hieroglyphica. Malta, 1824-30. {Text otiiy.)
Chabas, Melanges Egyptologiques. Series I, II, III. 1862-1873.
Voyage d'un Egyptien en Syrie, en Phenicie, &c. 4to. 1867.
Le Calendrier des Jours Pastes et Nefastes de I'anne'e
Egyptienne. 8vo. 1877.
Maspero, De Carchemis oppidi Situ et Historia Antiquissima
8vo. Paris, 1872.
Dec. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1887.
NOTICES.
Subscriptions to the Society become due on the ist of January
each year. Those Members in arrear for the current year are
requested to send the amount ^i is. at once to the Treasurer,
B. T, BosANQUET, Esq., 54, St. James's Street, S.W.
Papers proposed to be read at the Monthly Meetings must be
sent to the Secretary on or before the loth of the preceding month.
Members having New Members to propose are requested to send
in the names of the Candidates on or before the loth of the month
preceding the meeting at which the names are to be submitted to
the Council. On application, the proper nomination forms may be
obtained from the Secretary.
Vol. IX, Part 2, of the " Transactions " of the Society is in
the press. Only a few complete sets of the "Transactions" of
the Society now remain ; they may be obtained by application to
the Secretary, W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A., 11, Hart Street,
Bloomsbury, W.C.
The Library of the Society, at 11, Hart Street, Bloomsbury,
W.C, is open to Members on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,
between the hours of 11 and 4, for the general business of the
Society.
As a new list of Members will shortly be printed. Members are
requested to send any corrections or additions they may wish to
have made in the list which was published in Vol. VHI, Part 3.
Members are recommended to carefully preserve their copies of
the " Proceedings," as they will not be reprinted at the end of the
Volume of "Transactions," and if lost can only be supplied at a
charge for each Part, or for the Volumes.
The Library and Offices of the Society will be closed during
Vacation, from December 24th to January 2nd, 1888, inclusive.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
Zhc Bronse ©rnaments of the
Ip^alace (3ates from Balawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, II, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordance with the terms of the original prospectus, the price for
•each part is now raised to ;^i 10^. ; to Members of the Society (the original
price) j^i IS.
tlejts lit the Babylonian
Meboe=wntino.
Being a series of carefully autographed plates, copied from tablets
written in the Babylonian character only ; compiled by Theo. G. Pinches,
of the Department of Oriental Antiquities, British Museum.
The design of the Author is to furnish students with the means of
making themselves acquainted with the Babylonian style of writing, and to
this end the texts, which will be of high value and interest, will be
accompanied by as complete a syllabary of the Babylonian characters
as can now be made, arranged in a convenient form for reference.
It is proposed to issue the work in two parts : — Part I has been issued
price 4s. 6d.
Society of Biblical Archeology.
COUNCIL, 1886-87.
President : —
P. LE Page Renouf.
Vice-Presidents : —
Rev. Frederick Charles Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.
Lord Halsbury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, U.D., &c.. Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
.Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bari., D.C.L., M.D., &c., &c.
J. Manship Norman, M.A.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbuiy.
i
Coit)
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, M.P., &c.
Robert Bagster.
Rev. Charles James Ball.
Rev. Canon BeeChey, M.A.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Gates.
Thomas Chrisiy, F.L.S.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A.
Rev. Alisert Lowv.
//.-—
Professor A. Macalister, M.D.,
F.R.S.
F. D. Mocatta.
Claude Montefioke.
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
J. Pollard.
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
E. Towry Whyte, M.A.
Ri;\. W. Wright, D.D.
Honorary Treasurer- Bernard T. Bosanquet.
Secretary — W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A.
Honorary Secretary for Foreign Correspondence — pROF. A. H. Sayce, M.A.
Honorary l.ilnarian — W(i 1. 1 am Simpson, F.R.C.S.
HAKKrSO.V AND SONS, I'KINTEKS IN ORUINAKY TO HIiR MAJESTY, SI. MAKTINS LANK.
VOL. X Part 3.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION.
Third Meeting, loth January, 1888.
Anniversary.
-^)e>-
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Secretary's Report 135-140
Statement, Receipts, and Expenditure, 1S87 141
Council and Officers, 188S 142
Karl Piehl. — Inscription grecque trouvee en Egyjte 143
Rev. W. Houghton, M.A., F.L.S.— The Pistic Nard of the
Greek Testament 144-146
P:. a. Wallis Budge, AI.A. — Cylinder of Neriglissar (6 plates) 146
Max MiJLLER.— Notes on the " Peoples of the Sea " of Merenptah 147-154
S. Alden Smith. — Assyrian Letters. Part III. (12 plates) i55-i77
-^^
published at
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsburv, W.C.
1888.
[No. LXXII.j
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
ir, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PRICE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
Vol.
Vol.
To Membehs.
To Non-
Members
s.
d.
s. d.
I, Part I
10
6
12 6
I, ,
) 2
10
6
12 6
n, ,
, I
8
0
ID 6
n, ,
> 2
8
0
10 6
III, ,
, I
8
0
10 6
III, ,
, 2
8
0
10 6
IV, ,
, I
10
6
12 6-
IV, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
V, ,
, I
12
6
IS 0
V, ,
> 2
10
6
12 6
VI, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
VI, ,
1 2
10
6
12 6
VII, ,
■, I
7
6
10 6
VII, ,
, 2
ID
6
12 6
VII, ,
> 3
10
6
*. 12 6
VIII, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
VIII, ,
■, 2
10
6
12 6
VIII, ,
> 5
10
6
12 6
IX, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
I
»R0(
:eedingS.
I, Sc
>ssion
187S
-79
2
0
2 6
II,
1879
-80
2
0
2 6
III,
1880
-81
4
0
5 0
IV,
1881
-82
4
0
5 0
V,
1SS2
-S3
4
0
50
VI,
1S83
-84
5
0
6 0
VII,
1884
-85
5
0
6 0
VIII,
1885
-86
5
0
6 0
A few complete sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may be
obtamed on application to the Secretary, W. II. Rylanes, F.S.A., II, Hart
Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
Third Meeting, \oth January^ 1888.
[anniversary.]
p. LE PAGE RENOUF, Esq., President,
IN THE CHAIR.
The following Presents were announced, and thanks
ordered to be returned to the Donors : —
From the Author : — Vocabolario GerogHfico Copto Ebraico dell
dott. Simione Levi. Volume Quinto. Torino. 1887.
From the Author : — Why that " Assyrisches Worterbuch " ought
never have been published. By Samuel Alden Smith. Leipzig.
1888.
From the Editors: — Dietsche Warande Tijdschrift voor kunst
en Ledegeschiedenis. Vol. I ; No. i. Ghent. November,
1887. 8vo.
From Lady Tite : — Hobson Jobson : a Glossary of Anglo-Indian
Colloquial Words and Phrases. By Col. Henry Yule, R.E.,
&c., and Arthur Coke Burnell, Esq., &c. London. 1886.
[No. Lxxii.] 133 o
Jan. 10] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
From Lady Tite : — Vanjel Jesu Christacho. S. Matheus Pustokim
XIII. 1-35- Mangalore. 1872.
From Lady Tite : — Specimens of South Indian Dialects. By
A, C. Burnell, Esq. No. 3, Kodagu (Coorg). Mangalore.
1873. 40 Copies printed.
• By A. C. Burnell. Only 30 copies printed. No. i of the
Specimens of South Indian Dialects.
. An Account of a Manuscript Hebrew Roll of
the Pentateuch. London. 1863. 50 Copies printed.
Notes on the Discoveries at Budrum in 1856.
By Sir William Tite, M.P., F.R.S., F.S.A. Privately printed.
London. 1858.
On some Pahlavi Inscriptions in South India. By
A, C. Burnell, &c. Mangalore. 1873. 4to.
From the Author: — Handbiicher der Alten Geschichte I.
Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte. Von C. P. Tiele. II Teil.
Gotha. 1886. 8vo.
The fgllowing were submitted for election, having been
nominated on December 6th, 18S7, and elected: —
Dr. M. Gaster, 19, Brondesbury Villas, Kilburn, N.W.
Edward C Malan, The School House, Sherburne.
Arthur Ca'yley Headlam, Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford.
The following were nominated for election at the next
Meeting on 7th February, 1888: —
Miss E. M. Harris, 9, Queen's Square, W.C.
Rev. John West, M.A., The Manse, Antrim, Ireland.
The following were elected Honorary Members of the
Society : —
Dr. James Darmesteter, Paris.
M. E. Guimet, Lyon.
M. Louis de Clercq, Paris.
134
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. iSSS.
SECRETARY'S REPORT
FOR THE YEAR 1887.
•The number of Members on the Roll was announced in the Report
for the year 1886, read at the Anniversary Meeting held 8th January,
1S87, as being 696.
The Roll now comprises : —
Ordinary Members .... 605
Public Libraries .... .... .... .... .... 52
657
Foreign Honorary Members 35
Total .... 692
Before commencing the enumeration of the various papers read
before the Society, and printed in the publications, a few words seem
necessary about the new form adopted for the Proceedings during the
past year. When in the year 1878 I commenced the separate leaflets,
in place of the abstracts of papers read, up to that time printed at the
end of the Transactions, it was with the thought and hope that besides
the ordinary papers submitted to the Society, there might be collected
from time to time a sufficient number of shorter communications, of
permanent value to make the Proceedings of the Society a medium
of communication between those interested in the subjects within its
scope. This I was happy to see fully realised during the tenth year of
my connection with the Society, and when the Council decided to issue
the leaflets no longer in an unbound form. Inconveniences having
arisen through the unavoidable delay caused by the difficulty of collecting
material sufficient to form the Parts of Transactions, to ensure a regular
publication, it was considered that to best meet the interests of Authors
and Members alike, the Papers read before the Society ought to be
printed in full in the Pr-oceedings. During the past year, when possible,
this system has been followed, and the valuable communications read
before the Society have thus been made available to Members, each
month, instead of the older plan of waiting for the completion of a part
of the Transactions.
I must point out that the present size of the monthly parts of the
Proceedings exceeds by some pages that of the annual volume as first
issued in 187S.
135 O 2
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
Notwithstanding the increased size of this portion of the Society's
Publications, which has been kept up during the four or five last sessions,
the Council have been able to issue during the past year the first part
of Vol. IX of the Transactions. It is to be hoped that the amount of
material printed will still further increase year by year — very much is
still at hand waiting publication. I would therefore urge upon the
present Members the desirability of increasing the funds in the hands
of the Council, and thereby not only adding much to the usefulness of
the Society, but adding much also to the quantity of new matter pub-
lished, which would necessarily be issued to them as individual
Members.
The various papers read having been as above mentioned distributed
between the Transactiotis and Proceedings, it may be well in the
enumeration of them to class together these two publications, stating
as in former Reports the place of their publicatioru
Two parts of the Memoir of our late President have appeared in
Vol. IX, Pt. I, of the Trans. The first, by E. A. Wallis Budge, not
only includes a biographical notice, but contains the most complete
bibliography of the many and varied writings of Dr. Birch that has
yet been printed. A portrait is added from a negative taken by
H. T. Thome, of Bath, who kindly placed it at the disposal of the
Council. Professor Douglas has added a few remarks on Dr. Birch's
Chinese labours, forming Part III of the Memoir, and I am happy
to be able to state that Part II, which has been kindly undertaken
by our present President, P. le Page Renouf, and which will include
a detailed account of the Hieroglyphic labours of Dr. Birch, is in a
forward state, and will ere long be issued to the Members.
To F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A., the Society was indebted for a very
carefully executed account of the Antiquities from Bubastis, in his
own valuable collection {Tra?is. IX, i), as well as the description
of an inscribed fragment of wood from Thebes, of the XVIIIth
Dynasty, which is printed in the December Proceedings.
To follow the Egyptian subjects in their order of publication, Professeur
E. Lefebure {Trans. IX, i) discusses the names of Adam and Cham,
in a paper read in March, 1886.
E. A. Wallis Budge in the February Proceedings gave a short
account of the Tombs of Mechu, Ben, and Se-Renpu, discovered by
Major-General Sir F. Grenfell ; of which the full and most interesting
description, by the same writer, with a series of Plates was issued,
as well as an account of other excavations made in 1885 and 1886, in
the Proceedings for November.
To the President the Society has been indebted for a number ot
very valuable communications, which have appeared in various numbers
of the Proceedings. They are as follows :— The name of the Egyptian
god Seb, with a Plate illustrative of the Hieratic form of the Goose,
136
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
(Februarjf, 1887). Note on the inscription of Amenophis III, copied
by Professor Sayce (May). A discussion on "conscience" in Egyptian
Texts, in the same number. Notes on the SiJurus fish dba^ and the
Hieroglyphic sign for Battle (June), forming a supplement to his
former communication on the same subjects printed in the Proceedings,
March, 1885. In November a translation and description of an
Inscription at Kum-el-ahmar, illustrated by a Plate of the copy taken
by Professor Sayce, a note on Dr. Max Miiller's letter discussing the
so called name af Judah in the list of Shoshenq, as well as a further
note on the Inscription at KOjn-el-Ahmar, both printed in the
December Proceedings.
The Society has been indebted to Dr. Macalister for two translations
of Egyptian documents. The first (February) an Inscription of Aahmes,
in the Fitz-William Museum, and the second (March) an Egyptian
Inscription of theXIIIth Dynasty, in the Dublin National Museum.
In the May Proceedings Dr. Wiedemann in three communications of
considerable interest describes and discusses a Monument of the First
Dynasties, in the Museum at Aix-en-Provence ;. The Age of Memphis ; A
Relative of Queen Nub-^as.
Professor Amelineau (March), in an interesting communication on
the Sahidic Translation of the Book of Job, gave the whole of the Coptic
Text of this valuable document, which is now in type and will be issued
as early as convenient. To the same author the Society was indebted
for the very interesting paper opening up the subject, and submitting, for
the first time, the Text and Translation of a Coptic Story, entitled, " The
Two Daughters of the Emperor Zeno," which will be printed in an early
number of the Proceedings. A note on the Sahidic Version of Job, by
the Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, appeared in June.
Professor Sayce, besides the copies of the dated inscription of
Amenophis III (May), and the inscription at Kum-el-Ahmar (December)
already referred to, and of which he kindly placed his copies at the
disposal of the Society, published in the May Proceedings an account of
some Greek Ostraka fi-om Egypt, and the copy of a Greek Inscription
from Aswan.
The Rev. H. G. Tomkins, continuing his researches (June 2nd, 1885)
on the Karnak Tribute Lists of Thothmes III, read a paper (May), which
will be issued, fully illustrated, in the next Part of the Transactions.
Major Plunkett (June) gave an interesting description of the newly-
discovered Nilometer at Philce, which he illustrated with a carefully-
executed drawing of those of Philoe and Elephantine, placed side by side
for comparison.
Beside the Coptic Texts already mentioned, the work of publication,
commenced during the last Session has been continued, and in Vol. IX,.
Part I, of the Transactions appeared the Text and Translation of a
Version of the Martyrdom of Isaac of Tiphre ; carefully made from a
T37
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILKOLOGY. [iS88.
MS. in the possession of Lord Zouche by E. A. Wallis Budge. The
same writer (June) communicated an account of an interesting text from
a sepulchral stele in the British Museum — as well as another text of a
Fragment of the Coptic Version of Saint Ephraim's Discourse on the
Transfiguration of our Lord (June).
The letter from Dr. Max Miiller which appears to decide the question
as to the supposed mention of the name of Judah in the list of Shoshenq
(December), has already been referred to.
Dr. W. Pleyte (November), in an interesting paper, describes and
translates a manuscript recording an Oracle of Amon, which was followed
by a communication from Professor E. Revillout, citing similar instances
of Nubian Oracles.
As dealing with subjects connected with the laws and manners of
both Egypt and Assyria, the numerous valuable communications for
which the Society has been indebted to Professor Eugene Revillout and
his brother Dr. Revillout, I have reserved for this place, as being most
fitting. In May. these two scholars favoured us with two papers :
Contrats de Mariage et d'adoption dans I'Egypte et dans la Chaldde,
and L'Antichrese non imobiliere dans I'Egypte et dans la Chaldee.
The same subject was continued (June) in a paper entitled, Antichrese in
Solutum ; Les depots et les Confiements en Droit Egyptien et en Droit
Babylonien, with other papers mentioned felsewhere, as well as others in
course of being printed.
The somewhat neglected and very difficult subject of Assyrian
Letters has been taken up by S. Alden Smith, two parts of which have
appeared (June and November), with translations, and the full texts in
fifteen plates. I am happy to be able to report that this Assyriologist
has kindly consented to continue the series from time to time.
In the December Proceedings the Rev. C. J. Ball has, in a long and
valuable paper, given the transcription and a new translation of the whole
of the Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar preserved at the India House.
The transliteration here given has been carefully compared several times
by him with the original stones ; and on examining the numerous philo-
logical notes with the text, it will be found that many new facts have
been brought to light. It must be a subject of congratulation that
Mr. Ball has undertaken this laborious task for the Society.
In a short communication (March) Robert Brown, Jr., F.S.A.,
discusses the Euphratcan Name of the Constellation Ursa Major; Dr.
Bezold, on the god Addu or Daddu (June) ; and in a series of six plates
E. A. Wallis Budge gives in the December Proceediftgs the whole of the
remaining text of the Fourth Tablet of the Creation Series, upon which
he read a Paper in November, 1883.
A Paper by Professor E. and Dr. V. Revillout, recording a new royal
Persian name, will be found in the June Proceedings, and to the same
138
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
number Professor De Harlez contributes a study in Religious History
of considerable interest — Satan et Ahriman ; Le Demon Biblique et
celui de I'Avesta.
Two very valuable Papers by Professor W. Wright find a place also
in the June Number — Some Apocryphal Psalms in Syriac, and Kufic
Tombstones in the British Museum — both of which include the original
text, as well as translations. The thanks of the Society are due to
Professor Wright, who so kindly came forward to assist the Council in
widening the scope of materials issued in their publications.
The Billingual inscriptions discovered in Cyprus by Dr. Max Ohne-
falsch-Richter, and described by Professor W. Wright and the President
in the December Proceedings (with two plates), were further discussed
by Philippe Berger in February, and again in March.
Of Jewish subjects, several of more than usual interest have been
submitted to the Society. The Rev. C. J. Ball (March), continuing his
first Paper on Hebrew poetry published in the Proceedmgs, June, 1886,
discusses the metrical structure of Qinoth, and gives the Book of
Lamentations in the original measures.
To Dr. S. Louis we have been indebted for two Papers ; that read
in April, 1886 [Trajis. IX, i), in which he has collected many of the
interesting and curious traditions of supernatural voices (Bath-Kol) ;
and another Paper equally interesting (June), entitled Palestinian
Demonology.
Dr. Caster, as well as the Paper read at the December meeting on
an Apocalypse of Moses, has contributed the text, and translation of
an Apocalypse of Abraham, from the Roumanian text, here first published,
having been discovered by himself ( 7>77;zj-. IX, i).
Professor Sayce, in a Paper entitled The Karian Language and In-
scriptions, whilst discussing the language, has collected together in four
plates all the inscriptions known, and I may mention that a supple-
mentary Paper is in my hands for early publication {Trails. IX. i).
The Rev. Dr. Placzec, through the Rev. A. Lowy, who kindly
undertook the work of translation, has in the same volume furnished a
consideration of the use and name of the Weazel and Cat in ancient
times.
Edward Falkener, in the June Proceedings, advances his reasons for
fixing the site of Gethsemane, and Miss Gonino (March) has described
the Caaba and Mosque of Mecca.
Of Papers dealing with the Monuments of the character called
Hittite, several have been submitted to the Society. The Rev.
C. J. Ball (February) published an attempt to decipher these in-
scriptions, illustrated by two Plates of the rock carvings in the Safa ;
as well as a note on the same subject (March). A note was printed
from G. A. Simcox, M.A., on the name Bit-hilani, to which Mr. Ball
replied in the same number (May).
Jan. 10] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [i88S.
In the June Proceedhigs I had the pleasure of placing the Members
in possession of two Plates of my sketches of the whole of the inscribed
characters on the inscribed Lion from Merash, now in the Museum
at Constantinople, for a cast of which, as well as those from the Hamath
Stones, the Society was indebted to the kindness of F. D. Mocatta.
The Library still continues to increase in value and usefulness, and
it has been a subject for sincere gratification to be able to announce
each month the many valuable donations from the authors and friends.
A number of books have, as funds would allow, been purchased by
the Council. It must be remembered, however, that the amount
available for this purpose, as has been already pointed out, is necessarily
small, and many works required by students are still absent, and
many subjects very far from complete in their series. It is therefore
to be hoped that Members will still continue to assist in placing such
works as may be required within the reach of those who may have few
other opportunities of using them.
The Society exchanges publications with a large number of kindred
Societies, which will in future be announced at the end of the session.
The Audited Balance Sheet annexed shows that the funds available
for the year 1887 have been ^776 iSjt. c^d., and the expenditure in the
like period £702, 2s. i id. The balance carried forward to the current year
1888 is ^73 15-r- 6^^-
A vote of thanks to the President for his valuable services to the
Society was proposed by Canon Beechey, and seconded by the Rev.
A. Lowy, to which the President replied.
The Rev. A. Lowy proposed, and Mr. J. Pollard seconded, a vote
of thanks to the Secretary for his efforts to advance the interests of
the Society. Mr. Rylands in thanking the Meeting for their kind
expression of their satisfaction, asked for the cordial assistance of
individual members in carrying on the work and increasing the
usefulness of the Society.
The Report and Balance Sheet were then received, and unani-
mously adopted.
140
Jan. io] proceedings.
^- Of000"--*00^0"VO
S:2
>-■ M M
s?
>^
CQ
o
o
Q
J
n
()
w
^
1-1
X
(4
U
<
Q^
><
<
H
J
pi;
<
U
o
w
»— t
Pi;
J
D
CQ
l-H
U^
o
Q
^
>
<J
H
en
W
Pi
h— 4
U
u
w
o
p^
c/5
o
!3 ;^
<^ "H M
- '5 .s
cy
^ W Pi Ph C/} O pL,
P^ ^-ri
-T^ > C
y
" Q
ffi pq
t/3 ?J S i2
W fi< Ph PP
w
., 0
H
QJ
"fi 0
kJ
PQ
^
W «
J
3
3 ^
^ S
-^ Pti
c ..
<^ X
-l-T i-H
^>
tS tuo
c c
c a
P- pL,
s . s ^
00 O
(M O
'^ O
ro O
CO
vo O
s?
S?
: S^ : ^
C3 c/i W
<u i2 !-
o ^ '-' „
' c " o -
pq c/2
o „
H -
0
(Si
>.
ID ^^
PhPW
C
,_,
5^ i-
m
u 0
H
T1
<-•-<
V 0
0
<L)
-T-!
V Cj
u
>
^ S
s^
cfiQ
<;
r/1
t^
_j
H
00
"
«
D
CO
.0
aj
CO
<5
.s
u
^'
0
0
►J
H
0
pq
3
0
c
_d
w
,—4
c/5
«
;^
>^
C
c
n
c
}-i
0
"^
H
0
U-i
c
^i^
<
!-U
!m
<u
ffi
0
H
;h
^
-^
1)
"
cn
hJ H P^
141
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
[iSS8.
The following Officers and Council for the current year
were elected : —
COUNCIL, 1888.
President.
P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
Vice-Presidents.
Rev. Frederick Charles Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.
Lord Halsbury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., &c., Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart., D.C.L., M.D.
J. Manship Norman, M.A.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L. , F.R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury.
Council.
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, M.P., &c.
Rev. C, J. Ball.
Rev. Canon Beechey.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Gates.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, D.D.
Thomas Christy, F.L.S.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A.
Rev. Albert Lowy.
Rev. James Marshall.
F. D. Mocatta. •
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A
J. Pollard.
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
E. Towry Whyte, M.A.
Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
Honorary Treasurer.
Bernard T. Bosanquet.
Secretary.
W. Harry K.vlands, F.S.A.
Hon. Secretary for Foreign Correspondence.
Professor A. H. Sayce, M.A.
Honorary Librarian.
William Simpson, F.R.G.S.
142
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The Secretary read a Paper, by MM. Eugene and Victor
Revillout, entitled " Une Prophetic Messianique Assyrienne,"
which will we printed in a future number of the Proceedings.
INSCRIPTION GRECQUE TROUVEE EN EGYPTE.
Je viens d'acheter une plaque oblongue en calcaire qui porta
en quatre lignes une epitaphe grecque en forme de distique. Voici
I'inscription en question : —
GYH'YXeiKYPIAAAeC
OIC€NAAirKI€MOP4>HN;^
NYNrAPXU)PON€XEIC
HCYXONAGANATlONd'
L KB
ce qui I'ecrit en lettres ordinaires de la maniere suivante:
tTOS /f/3.
Je n'ai sans doute pas besoin de relever que la cesure des deux
vers se trouve a la fin de la premiere et de la troisieme ligne du
texte original.
N'etant pas philologue classique de profession, je suis dans
I'impossibilite de determiner sous quel empereur tombe la date
de I'an 22 qui termine notre inscription. Toutefois, je suppose
qu'elle appartient a I'epoque de Tibere, dont le nonl se rencontre
plus souvent en Egypte que ceux de la plupart des autres
empereurs remains.
Le Caire, 10 decembre, 1887.
Karl Piehl.
143
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
THE PISTIC NARD OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT. '
By the Rev. William Houghton, M.A., F.L.S.
The meaning of the Greek adjective tt/o-t^ko? in the account
given by St. Mark (xiv, 3) and St. John (xii, 3) of the woman
who poured ointment over the head or feet of Jesus, as He sat
at meat in the house of Simon the leper in Bethany, has long
been a subject of discussion. St. Mark speaks of a\d/3affrpov ^ivpov
vapBov TTiajiK?}^ TToXuTeXoo'i ; "an alabaster cruse of pistic nard very
costly;" St. John of a pound (Xi'rpx) of the same ointment. "It
seems impossible," says Alford (Greek Test., i, p. 410), "to assign
any certain or even probable meaning to TriariKij^ (a word found
here and in St. John's narrative only) . . . The ancient com-
mentators give us nothing but conjecture. Euthymius and
Theophylact interpret it genuine; Jerome, ' veram et absque dolo.'
Augustine supposes it to refer to some place from which the nard
came. . . The expression nowhere occurs in the Classics." The
Revised Version renders " ointment of spikenard very costly," and
in a marginal note has, " Gr. pistic nard, pistic being perhaps
a local name. Others take it to mea.n genuine ; others, liquid." In
the translation by genuine, TriffriKos is supposed to be another form
of TTtffTo'v, "true" or "faithful;" hence "unadulterated;" in that by
liquid, to be a form of TTfo-ToV (root ttw) "drinkable." yEschylus
{Prom. V. 480) uses the form TriaTou of «Xfc'fy/<«, i.e., "a remedy
to be drunk;" but this form is rare, and Tna-riKo-i cannot he shown
to mean " drinkable." Moreover, TnariKo^i, usually TreiaTiKos, is in
classical authors used transitively, meaning " persuasive," as viajiKos
\6-lo^, " a convincing argument," tt. pipwp, " a persuasive pleader."
In the sense of "faithful," "sure," TntniKov in later. Greek is used
of persons, and its application to signify genuine as predicated of a
material object, is, if possible, at any rate very unusual, and without
authority. I think that I am able to supply the true etymology
of this word. The nard in question is undoubtedly spikenard ; a
preparation in which the root of an Indian plant formed the
principal and most costly part. The plant is the Nardostachys
jatamansi of modern botanists, as has been abundantly proved
some years ago by the late Dr. Royle, in his large work on the
"Botany of the Himalayan Mountains" (Vol. I, pp. 242 — 244).
144
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
The spikenard of the ancients was called in Arabic Sutilml {Sumhul)
uf-tW, "the good," or "fragrant nard;" by the Hindoos balchur
or jatihnansi, which latter word is the Sanskrit equivalent of the
Sunbul hindi, i.e., the Indian spikenard. The Hebrew 1"?^ nerd
the Arabic ^^,J;l3 {nard'm\ the Greek j^a/joo's, Persian nard,
Latin nardus, are all forms of the Sanskrit *f^^ nalada, one of
the names of spikenard, / and r being interchanged. In the Latin
translation of Avicenna, Nardus is equated with Spica, by both of
which names spikenard was known to the Romans. Now here
we have the reading of the Vulgate, "alabastrum unguenti nardi
sptcafi" (Mark xiv, 3) explained; spicati being the rendering of the
Greek word Trto-Tt/ct}?.* On refering to Sanskrit dictionaries, it
will be found that there are several names of the plant known as
the Nardostachys jatamansi, though some of them are used for
other plants as well ; amongst these names occurs the word pisita
(f^ftfTT) or pisi (ft"3ft), which are both equated with the
jata-mansi (ofCT^t^)- The latter name denotes "fleshy plant
with close or entangled hair," in allusion to the hairs with which the
fleshy root is clothed, and the shaggy scaly stems ; while pisita
seems to refer to the fleshiness of the root. Other Sanskrit words
used for the Nardostachys generally refer to the hair with which
the root and stems are clothed, as /omasa, kesini, sipha ; but the
nalada, already referred to, relates to the odour of the plant, from
rt. nal («T^)) "to smell." Spikenard (Heb. "1")J nerd) is mentioned
in Cant, i, 12; iv, 13, 14; it was imported into Judea and Persia
from India, and it is still an export from that country all over the
East and the Levant. The Nardostachys jatamansi is a native
of Nepal and Bootan ; it is a kind of Valerian, with an aromatic
odour, used as an ingredient in ointment, and as a stimulant
medicine. Although the odour is considered disagreeable by
some people, it is certain that it is much appreciated throughout
the East, and of odours we may say 7ion est disputandion.
Dioscorides (i, 6) describes three kinds of Nard; the Indian
he calls Gangites, from the river Ganges, near which it is produced.
The localities assigned by Dioscorides and Ptolemy to the Indian
nard agree with those where the plant is found. Dr. Royle found
* The Vulgate in John xii. 3 has " libram unguenti nardi pistici. "
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [iSSS.
it on the lofty mountains of the Himalayas, as at Kedar Kanta,
where for six months it is covered with snow, and furnished, like
other plants of a similar locality, with the permanent hair-like
fibres already mentioned. I think we may fairly conclude that
the Greek TnaTtK6<s is an adjective formed from the Sanskrit name
of the plant {pis ltd), the root of which was the costly ingredient
of the ointment, and that the name with the article itself is a
foreign import. If I am correct in this explanation, one may
translate Tna-nKos uaptoi- by "Indian ointment," with a marginal
note, I.e., "Spikenard, made from the roots of the Nardostachys
jatamansi." The translation of the Revised Version is correct and
exact, though the meaning oi 7ria-;iKus was unknown.
CYLINDER OF NERIGLISSAR.
December "jth, 1887.
Dear Mr. Rylands,
I send you a copy of the text inscribed upon a cylinder of
Neriglissar, king of Babylon about B.C. 558 (559-555), now in the
possession of Miss Emily Ripley. Among other things it mentions
the restoration of E-sagili, and the dedication of a threshold in the
same temple by Neriglissar, the son of Bel-sum-iskun. As Miss
Ripley's cylinder of Neriglissar is, as far as I know, only the second
complete one known, and the text is interesting to scholars, I think
it well to publish a transcript in the common Babylonian writing at
once, leaving the transliteration and translation for a future number
of the Proceedings. Miss Ripley possesses also an important tablet
dated in the eighteenth year of Samas-sum-ukin, recording the sale
of a garden in the district of Ku-ta-a-a-nu, belonging to Bunanitum,
a lady who is known to us from other tablets. I append a copy
of this also.
Yours, etc.,
E. A. Wallis Budge.
146
Proc. Soc. Bill. Arch., Janna-j, 1888.
Pl.ATK I.
CYLINDER OF NERIGLISSAR.
Column L
X. ^^<-^tm'B- t^mt-^m ^^^^^^^P^
>^ ^KT 'R 4 S=4r .^w: ^%^ «^I ^e^ tf
10. .^^ — y ^r 4- ^ "sJ H 4tr>{<I 4 ^T ^Vr
^5- j^ V- !^n ->f <::^7 -4- -n ^r -hf- ->f
^ t;<] i^
t;^ :^r -*f j;^
^ ^iH ^y <-y-^ <^^ <H±y ^y -^y *By<y liy * oj^
^y gE^y ^? ^^
y^T .^ ^ ^y4 ^ K>K ^rr ^yiy :^^ ^^ '^y<y y? y? -y h ^y
]wi! ;^y^y->f^y K-KE^yj ^yiy ^y^y y?y? <ry
-^- liy iy^>y<y -:^> b ii^y k-k ^y - >^y 4^ ^f^
Proc. Soc. Bib I. Aicli., January, 1888.
Plate II.
CYLINDER OF NERIGLISSAR.
!? .4 >^y<i ^i m -\> ^ <- ^ w r? ^4 •Hr<r -^n ^? r: ^r
n ^^ -^ H 4 "ET * E^ ^ :^ 4Jff
jsT<r ^ ^K >^^ ^M ->f j^- ^rr ?;? 4-- e^ ^
H * * %j^ m <^^ u< ^i ^^T ^ n
35. n :ffH? ^ E^ v^ m^ %]^ - ^i4 -+ j^- "Er
r][ .4 #n ^ K^ ^y? :ii4 j^- >/- <KEr >^
Column II.
-^r ^1 ^^4 m t±]t] i,t]^ %] >^ n "ill 4^
<-^ ^y^ m E^ .4 'EI I? -^> - :?T^i -M ;:^r^i ->f
<wr<i^^r j^- 4-- :^^
E^^iJ ^Jf- r?>yyyy .4^ ^! -^^T :5T^5^^r -^l±l4^ry
45. ^y i^zii "ET 4 j^- -^> J4Tf :?:M ^^IMT <c^ it-
ii4 "EH ^14 H -^> J^ ^ j^Ti K>K ^i ^r^i ^^iiyr
'EH -^ <F-'Er ^ >!y<r iru ^y^
m tn 'Ey'i^>yy<y :;r<y<-^i>^ ^^iJ^i'^y
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Anli.^ Jainiary, iSSS.
Plate III.
CYLINDER OF NERIGLISSAR.
5°-
55
^ ^IT^-T^r^^T
I -V^ ^ CI]
^} M -^- ^I -^r H
j^TT ^r^r >^! n ^4 <-r^ •^r h ^y h it- >^<y ?? ^4 ^-^li
6o. 5^ ?r ..y.y ^ ^ ^.. ^^y yy ;gy ^.y.. ^^y yr ^^y j^^yy
•:fT HI ^- ^T ^ ^ t> "BT ^ .^ !^:? ^r
^;^ j^ :5^^r T;f -r >^<i'^ :[^
65- ->f <:^-^i -n ^r j^^ir :^ e^ ^i; x^r t-]i h ^^ri e^ w
1i ^ ^Y
75-
-^cl^ - ^41 J^^ K-K E^r? %1 B ^I
^-]ii ^^y ^^y ^
T? ^4 -^ >flf<T >!<y-^ -^> :ii ^^yy 4^
Er .4 ^ :: K>K ::^!^i ^T ^4T -^> ^14 -^f ^4 ::^y^y >yy<y
-Hh ^^^ ^<I<T %h ^^ ^ <:^ "HT « J^^ ?I J^^- y-
>^ ^<y x^y 4^- « ^ ^n K-K ::^r^T
y? .^ ^y ^^yy 'Ey<y "eh t? >-4 ty
Proc-. Soc. lull. Arch., January, iSS8.
I'l.ATE IV.
SALE OF A GARDEN.
(From the iS'j'h Vicar of Samas-sum-ukin.)
^^^r ^M am ii< 'EI ^T -In ^ -^ir ::^^ ^^^y i? r? v-
K^T -4- :??^r 4>^ -?r ^ ^y >^?^ ^11 ^y -^y Vr y; i?
T -y-y-y ^
j^y ^ :^^y 44f -^yrry "iiy ^y >m: ^y ^y #n ¥
y y? ^t]^ 4^- ^^
J5:y-y ^ ^i] Ml ^-^ "^n j^y >f?fr ^y r^ >yy<y ¥
y ^y ^^^ ^yy
'^^A]]^^-<^AtviAJi-^}%'^<-h ^y^y
ir:^^y ^^ iHy ^i< "Ei ^y -t ^^ -^yy t^t^ :?r<y y? y? ^
^4yK4< y-^yty^y^^yyn :H:4:l¥y ^ A ^'r y;
•o. tr ^- ^4 ^ j^^ :s^ i< tt- ^'y ^-y^y ^.h tr'Ey<y i
y ^^^^
y; y 4- tr-^^ ^ y; ^y b yi w iMy n^^y ii <¥ j^y
yif ^ t^ >f iMy ii^^y
¥ ^ E^ -h E^ j^^ '^^y ^ ^ ^^yy 44y- - ^-^ ^y
E^ ^ y? .iy <- y- I ^;^ii^__^:§y
A- yi^^A' +"iMy ri^vi<f^i iB .if '^yrr y ^ ^ ^^
^5- :h^ I ¥ y -iiy H y? <- :h:x: y <^ ^^-^ ^ y? y ^^y^y^^y ^yy
1^ j^? ^y^y i:<M ^-^V] I i^ili^-y - ^yf ? ^< i^ -<-^
^y tn ^ E^ ^y^y ^hi -^ -<^ ^^y a '^y ^"liy^y
y? ^^t] y, m iri i- "^y y;^ <^y-^ b <- <-v ^yy y- ^y
rrcc. Soc. BihI. Arch., January, i88S.
Plate V.
25-
3°-
35-
40.
SALE OF A GARDEN.
^:^ I? I ^ 4 ^M? ¥ %}^\ ^ ^4 <;:±M4
-H-^ >m ^ M\ >^T ^ ^n "^T 5^r #n ^"m^
<^i.^ <^^{ .4 "^i ^% ^ <-Y 'EI ra ^ x^w ^- -^y?
y?j[^t- <yr ^"^v,-^ ^ ^^y ^^? -h<^
Mii>f y^ ^ -^ '7^^ j^ ^yq. -y tn i
j^iny <=KEy - ^y j^ y ^^y^y^y -^yy h
isiMM'iEy t^ ^^yy ^ ^ lK "^y ^y <?-'i±y
wmmmmB^ <-v ^^y j^ ^yri -y tn i^. i
iMii^^^iiiii-y^y4 ^HiL j^ytn
^^iiis^ii^isy- ^ y? ^ E^
Reverse.
<-y::y4 ¥ y '4^ ^ ^:^ y? .4 ^y #n \ ^\a\ ^,\\ -yy-
<HEy y{ #n H '^ '^y y -^ ^ ^j^ ^5^? -^
^ .^ 4 ^ ^ -^y >y^y -^ < ^ ^ ^^ ^r\ V, >/-
¥ -y wa ^A) j^ ^y ^ ^y tn ¥ y -^y^y^y -^yy h
:i^ ^ ¥ y -M: 4 :?=? y? ¥ ^^^ -^yy <?-'Ey ^.f^y >^tff j^y
ti? ^y- <F-'Hy ^y ,^?ff: Jn<y y --y-y-y ^^<^%^u
y4^y<yyi < j^y>^fff^yy?H ^^y^n ¥'7^*
¥ -<^y^y4 -^ ^j^ j^y >:te j^^y y :^y ^ >7^
%x^}-^«<-\-<^}'m^
«y
>— < *"*" >^Y
«-+<
>^ «->f <::-^y < -^ isy ^ ^^ j^i ->^
Plate VI.
Proc . Soc. Bihl. .-Irc/i., January, iSSS.
SALE OF A GARDEN.
45-
50-
55-
60.
.4
'^^^
-iin
.^-i ^"M >^ U-
-'-Vy
64.
^r r >^.^r -^ ^r t?
^r r 'o- <« ->f
45T tn r ->f cir ^\^<^%r] ^^]<\ ^]
y--y-y^y^^yrH^ri¥r
:s^l^-^?^y^yjr^^
^ .4 4 ^ I '^y
^ .4 \- -yy ? M *^r ^^
<y^y'M:4>f-r
y-^y-y-yK^^Hlj^-
T ^et :Hy <- -Hh
T ^r -iHT y?
T '^, .4 ^^
r >yK <- ->f
<
IT ^rr
4 ^n ^
YY >-<>-
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
NOTES ON THE "PEOPLES OE THE SEA"
OF MERENPTAH.
By Max Muller.
In Egyptian history there is hardly any incident of so great an
interest as the invasion of Egypt by the Mediterranean peoples,
the facts of which are connected with the most important questions
of ethnography and the primitive history of classic nations.
The facts are sufficiently known, therefore it is unnecessary
for me to give here a full account of all the different incidents.
Nevertheless it must be remarked that I entirely deny an
invasion by the same peoples under Seti I, which, since de
Rouge's first essay upon this subject {Revue Archeologique, 1867)
is mentioned in most historical works.* I hope to be able
* In the song of the battle of Qadesh (f. ex. Mariette, Abydos II, 4, line 10)
the Egyptian corps of Shardina is called I?hI ^^ w *"
y . X 0 J] ^ ^^ . W J^^ 1 ^2. 1
■ ^IT r n\ \1 " Sh.ardin(a) of the spoil of (= captured by) his
majesty." From these words De Rouge (p. 37) deduces that "the expedition
of Seti I against the Libyans was probably the occasion of capturing a corps
of warriors of Shardanas. This expedition was led by Ra'mses himself. It is
certain that on the occasion of his victory over the Tahennu the inscriptions of
the beginning of his reign attribute to him the triumph over the peoples of
the sea." I have not so extravagant an imagination as the famous Egyptologist,
who makes Ra'mses as crown prince (at the age of about ten years) conduct
this war. Besides, why do we in the inscriptions and representations of Seti's
war against the Libyans (Rosellini, mon. stor. 54) find only the || ^s \ W ^J^
and fl I ^ D V tvA/i mentioned, and only the well known costumes and faces
of the Libyan tribes represented ? Ra'mses himself never boasts elsewhere so
remarkable a victory as one over the Libyans and maritime peoples would be, and
we must wonder at such an unusual modesty. I think we must erase this war
from the various histories, several of which seem also to be in a state of confusion
with regard to the wars of Mernptah and Ra'mses III. The above mentioned
denomination of the Shardin may be explained in a less literal manner. We
know that this warlike maritime people was at that time constantly making
predatory raids on the coasts of Egypt, like the Karians of Psametic's period ;
and like them some were used as soldiers in the same land which was
spoiled by the others. Therefore the Egyptians of a period which still relnem-
bered a little the heroic times of the great conquerors of the XVIIIth Dynasty,
especially the native warriors, may have seen these strangers with no great favour,
and the kings themselves felt keenly the dishonour of employing them, so that they
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [i88S.
to treat the great invasion under Mernptah and that under
Ra'mses III, which was Umited to the neighbourhood of the frontiers,
in detail, and will therefore not discuss here the origin of the sea-
peoples. About this I find, excepting de Rouge's not too detailed
essay, only cursory remarks in the different works on Egyptian
history, but here, as L. Stern* has lately said, only archaeology
can give a final decision, and it is not possible for me now to
examine all the respective publications. I think it better to refrain
entirely from the dangerous practice of comparing the names in the
barbarous orthography of the Ramessids' period with the names from
classical authors, a method only too often exclusively employed. But it
must be confessed that de Rouge by this method has determined
at least one or two names which archaeological studies will confirm.
The most evident comparison is now that of the " Shardana," or
better "Shardina" (read "Shardin"), with the Sardinians, since
Perrot and Chipiez have published the fourth volume of their
" Histoire de I'art dans I'antiquite." We find by numerous drawings
in this book that the principal part of the armour of the aboriginal
Sardinians was a great helmet with two horns over the forehead, a
form which is found also in Italy. The author contests the evident
identity of this form and that of the characteristic helmets of the
Shardin with arguments easy to be refuted. Chiefs (and generally
the Shardin in Egyptian service) add other ornaments ; but the
common people have only the two horns. How can an author who
has treated Egyptian art forget that these, in the Egyptian manner
of drawing (cf. only hieroglyphs as ^), must be turned '■'■en face?"
Besides, the whole armour and the type of face confirm the identifi-
cation, and from this it is almost certain that the Shardin were
inhabitants of the islands in the Tuscan Sea, perhaps also Italians of
would have regarded these soldiers as captives. Originally the first of them
may have been such slaves, but for a corps which formed not only the life
guards of the king, but the veritable elite of the whole army, the few pirates
occasionally captured in their raids would not have sufficed. Mernptah himself,
in the great battle of ^ [] ^^ ^ g P-ar-sps (Prosopis ?), captured a small
number (perhaps 305 according to the i6th line of the abbreviated text recently
discovered by Maspero, hardly 9,146 as Brugsch would suggest). Mean-
while I consider the title "prisoners" only as an euphemism until a real record
of a greater conflict with the piratical peoples of that time is found.
* Zcitschrife/iirU^'p/isc/ic Sprachc, 1883,20.
148
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
the continent being included. Whether the TursJia or Tursh do
denote the latter as Tvpffrjvoi I do not venture to decide now, still
less whether the " Aqaiuash(a) " are 'Axaioi'. The last hypothesis
is not the most probable, but even admitting it to be so, the almost
general denomination, " invasion of the Greeks," is quite inappropriate
for that war. The rest of the pirates are inhabitants of the south-west
of Asia Minor, where the Ruk[a) or Luk(a) (hardly " Lycians ") are
found already as auxiliaries of the Xeta. That the Shakanishia)
have the same home, and are in no case "Siculi," I will prove in
a more detailed essay.
In the war of Ramses III against the northern peoples in Syria
we find only tribes of Asia Minor, as is natural, because the greater
part of them came .from the border of the river Euphrates. Only
some of the Shardin joined the other part upon the fleet. Some
comparisons of their names with more modern ones may be probable ;
their origin is certainly quite different from the Indo-German or half
Indo-German inhabitants of Asia Minor in the times recorded by
Greek authors.
After these summary remarks I will consider the important
arguments of Brugsch. This author has {Zeitschrift filr dgyptische
Sprache, 1874, and in several pages of his "History of Egypt under
the Pharaohs ") developed quite a new opinion about all the northern
peoples, and given remarkable reasons for it. Unfortunately he
soon abandoned this opinion himself without giving any new reason.
Therefore I think it the more necessary here to examine his
arguments.
According to Brugsch, all the above mentioned nations were
" Colchi-Caucasian tribes." What is (for example p. 577, of the
German edition) said about their emigration in Libya, and other
hypotheses, also the comparisons of names (pp. 578, 592), I will not
here discuss, but only his positive archaeological arguments.* Such
an argument is circumcision, which, according to Brugsch, is
common to these foreigners. He relies upon the fact that in the
great battle of Prosopis (?) the Libyans gave their phalli, the pirates
* The " Kaikash(a) " are Libyans, not " Caucasians," and always distinguished
from the northern peoples. We must in general be very careful not to confound
the two great wars.
149 P
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
their hands as trophies for comi)uting the dead foes. In the inscrip-
tion the first trophies are called :
\V AAAAAA ft
fZS^ ^ ^ _ffi.^ I U Mill
" phalli as (jaira>i{a)td.'
The denomination of the pirates is :
iMm.z.^%^MW\
^ V ^ '^ ^%^ ^ 111 -tti-^ I ^ J^^ U 1 I M
or
A D tk \\ (? / TV '\W ^
-l.^VM
^ w a I I I / <$. \\\ r\^ I W w^ U 1 I 1 1
" who had no qa Iran at a." .
The second expression has been explained grammatically by
Brugsch. The decision depends upon the sense of the "Vr/f Xe^/ojuei^oi/
q:i-ii-a-na-td-= qarnat, qa/?iaf, or P^'^p jH^T^p (without vowels). If
this sense is " prccputium," as was already believed before Brugsch's
remarks, we have an important argument which forbids us to find
any European peoples.
Brugsch quoted the interesting passage of Herodotus, II, 104,
about circumcision, " which was only used among the Colchians,
Egyptians, and Ethiopians of all people since old times." How the
different analogies of Egyptian and Colchian customs (cap. 105) are
to be explained nobody can at present say, for we know too little
about the Colchians. But we must consider : —
1. Were the Colchians ever a nation of sailors? I think never,
for Herodotus, VII, 79, enumerates their contingents only as land
troops in the Persian army,
2. Is it more probable that fleets from the further shores of the
Black Sea after passing the Dardanelles came to Egyi)t than that
they came from Italy? I think even the last fact is curious enough.
3. Brugsch does not mention that according to Herodotus the
Colchians were in all respects extremely like the Egyptians, both in
being "of a black colour and curly-headed." But especially the
Shardi?t (the remarkable denomination '^ap^.oviKov for the Colchian
linen is not sufficient reason for identifying them with Colchians) are
in dress and arms, in colour and habits, as unlike the Egyptians as
possible.
J 50
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
But let us now come to the circumcision and the Karnak
inscription.
The second expression is used in the following passages : line
25, "the Shardina, Shakarusha, Aqaiuasha from the lands of the sea
A
%%.\\
o w <-!J W ^^^ (2 111 .£e^ I W _M^ U 1 I I I
nte bn nu qa - ira - na - ta
who had 710 qrnt."
Line 53 is destroyed.
Line 54. " Shardina (Shakarusha), Aqaiuasha
^¥^V1.]^
A fl A
^ w a I I I -cs:^ § 111 _M^ I W 1^^ (J 1 1 1 1
nte man mdau qu - ira - na - ta
w/io had no qrnt " (who were killed and whose hands* were brought)
ma'n mdau (qa-ira-na-ta)
(as) they had jw qrnt."
Formerly these passages were translated : " who had no prge-
putium," as above mentioned.
But how to explain the passages about the Libyan trophies ?
Line 46. " Asses laden with —
f=u) ^-^ -=>'tk 1 fl <5- lllQ:^^<z:> n tK ^
hnni qa-ra-na-ta n x^t ra - bu
phalli-qrnt of the Libyan people."
hnni m qa-ir-na-ta
phalli as qrnt,"
as introduction of the list of slain Libyans.
* The expression \ ij ij | ' , , , (^ ^ ^ ^ 1 ,'. ' " ^'"'' P^'"^
of hand (?)," is quite uncommon.
151 P 2
Ja\. io] society of biblical ARCH.-EOLOGY. [iS88.
Here the sense " prceputium " for qrjit cannot be applied.
Brugsch translates, " members of the uncirciwicised people of Libu,"
and "members of u?idrcumcised men." This cannot possibly be
a literal translation. The text must be ft 31L^^ ' ^ -www
^4^^ I k\ \ U '"'^^tD ^^ or similar in this case, but here
_M^ /VSA/SAA _M^ (J 1 III
qariiat stands first as adjective or apposition, and in the second
passage the m expresses a similar relation with hmii in the more
old-Egyptian sense of "as." Qarnat may in the second case be a
causal explanation, as : " phalli (which were cut off) as (being)
■qarnat" I think this is also the sense of the adjectival apposition.*
But how to translate ? We could attempt to translate hnni qrnt,
" phalli a7id prsepntia," but the variation with m forbids this. Con-
sidering the determ.inative (^ we can understand qrnt, qarnat only as
a certain kind of p/iailus, either the circumcised or the uncircum-
cised.f
The most likely translations were given by Chabas (" Etudes sur
I'antiquite historic^ue," p. 234) and lately by Bondi (" Dem Hebraisch-
Phonizischen Sprachzweige angehorige Lehnworter,"p. 72 — 74). As
Chabas says, qnit is the plural Jl^'^p = Hl^'^p of "Hip, and denotes
" les membres virils en cornes, c'est-a-dire separes du scrotum."
This comparison of pp is very tempting, certainly more probable
ihan that of pi'^i'^^, etc., although it gives no explanation. But both
authors seem not to understand the denomination of the pirates.^
Bondi would read : " Shardin, etc., who did not supply phalli as booty."
But the words "supply as booty" are either interpolated or a mistake
for the -<2>- , which, according to Erman (" Neuag. Grammatik,"
§ 351), seems to have become a mere determinative. The sense of
* A mistake of ni for n would not be impossible, for both prepositions are over
and over again confounded in new Egyptian (the more frequent mistake of « for m
in Erman, " Neuiig. Gramm.," § 99 (/and e). But that would give no better ex-
planation. J\I in the sense of " from " would rather form an expression hnni m
im-qairnata.
t N.B. — The abbreviated account of the victory omits the addition q)-nt, and
gives always only " phalli."
X The translation of Chabas, 1.1. p. 199, "qui n'avaient pas eu des phallus coupes,"
and " dont on n'a pas coupes les phallus," takes qrnt as a verb. First this verb
would require a determinative ^^^Ti' Then, the second sentence woukl be formed
with J
/vvwv^ v.. \-,
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [i8b8.
'y, is no other than that of the Coptic
_fl I I I -CS:^ A Q I I I
JULJUL0n-(n)xa30'r : JULn(rt)T-^.T. Robiou("Recueilde tra-
vaux," 2, 58) translates in a similar way : " qui non possunt (esse)
in praebendo prgeputia," with the most curious explanations
A or & a as verb). JtX.Xt.O[\. cannot be used in a
_fl
verbal construction, which also Bondi seems to have forgotten. And
where is a word " booty " to be found ?
(2 111
After all, these more or less arbitrary or forced explanations are
all insufficient for either the one or the other expression, and there-
fore I come back to the above-mentioned translation oi qar7iat. But
which of the two possible senses is the more probable ?
1. I think the Egyptians cut off the members of the Libyans
because they believed them pure, and abhorred to touch those of the
other strangers. The honouring of the latter by sparing the symbols
of their purity, as Brugsch seems to think, is not in harmony with the
ancient Oriental way of thinking.
2. On all occasions the trophies taken from the slain foes are the
hands. Negroes, Nubians, Semites of all countries, lose the hands,
only Lybian tribes at different times the phalli. They were therefore
in opposition to all other peoples. Of course we cannot suppose
that only the Libyans were uncircumcised, a contradiction to all that
is known of ancient ethnography. The Phenicians, etc., were at all
times uncircumcised, also all the peoples of Asia Minor (Mesech and
Tubal, Ezekiel xxxii, 26), with the exception of the too remote
Colchians ; wherefore also the Xeta have the hands cut off.
3. Circumcision is an African custom. Among the neighbouring
tribes of the Upper Nile it was not so common as to-day, for we
always find the hands mentioned, but in the interior and in the west
it was perhaps already practised, which we may suppose with greater
probability to have been the case with the immediate neighbours on
the western Egyptian frontier.
Against this supposition two arguments can perhaps be advanced :
the first would be Herodotus' silence. But Herodotus is somewhat
concise in his accounts of the various Libyan customs, and in the
important passage about circumcision mentioned above he may have
passed over the neighbouring Libyans as practising it, not ott' apxij^,
but as belonging to those "who learned it from the Egyptians"
^53
Jan. 10] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [iSSS.
(II, 36). That they "have mostly Egyptian customs" is expressly
said, IV, 168. Then in the famous inscription of the Ethiopian
conqueror Pianxi it is said, that the Libyan chiefs in Lower Egypt
were avoided by the orthodox king of Napata, 3^ ^^
a . " ra .. a ,210 '-•^■■^^^ A >Q. ^ <S<
T\ ^^^^vT^ r^ '0 ^ ^ "^^ y ^'^QX't unclean
and fish-eaters."
According to the determinative the word a \t\ a' ma"
has probably some connection with circumcision, although not
necessarily, for r=ii) is determinative of impurity in general. Also
the contrary of dma' is the vague expression f 1 ^ ita^b " clean."
Either the hyperorthodox Ethiopian may have meant some differ-
ence in the execution of the rite, or the impurity of the Libyan chiefs
may depend upon quite another reason.
4. But to come to a positive decision we need only cast a single
glance on the original representations of battles with the Libyans,
for example in Medinet-Habu, to which I wish to direct the atten-
tion of those who can examine it. As far as I can see from the
imperfect drawings in the great publications, all the trophies show
circumcision in a very undoubted manner.
Now I would translate the above-quoted words " phalli ; clean
phalli, of the Libyan people," "phalli as clean phalli," and " Shardin,
who had no clean phalli." Grammatically hardly an objection will
be made.
I think these proofs are strong enough to establish the contrary
of Brugsch's translations, which have caused so much difficulty to
historians, who were not enough acquainted with Egyptology to
examine them for themselves. Therefore nothing compels us to
discuss the probability of circumcision in so early a time among the
Italian peoples, or to seek the home of these pirates in still more
remote and still less known countries. These results, the importance
of which with regard to the earliest history will be disputed by no
one, will explain why I have ventured to devote so long and detailed
a discussion to this delicate and curious question.
154
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
ASSYRIAN LETTERS, III.
By S. Alden Smith.
At no time, since I began the attempt to translate and explain
Assyrian documents, have I been compelled to use interrogation
marks so frequently as in the letters which follow. When I began
the study of this class of tablets, I started with the principle that
the clearest and best preserved should be translated first, so that the
knowledge derived from the study might be used in copying and
explaining those texts that are either badly damaged or are
especially difficult. I exi)ected to become familiar with words on
the clearer texts that would recur on those that are so damaged, that
it would be impossible to make them out without having met the
words before in similar connections. I expected, furthermore, to
be able to collect together the passages for several new words, and
from the connection to determine very nearly their meanings.
My expectations have, to a large extent, been realized. What is
lacking is expressed constantly by question marks, and this partly
accounts for the increase in numbers.
But question marks are not things of which a student, working
upon an untrodden field, has any reason to be ashamed ; they
indicate a most healthy condition of research. Nothing has so
exposed the weakness of Assyriological research, or laid the whole
subject so open to ridicule from sober-minded Semitic scholars, as a
lack of the proper use of interrogation marks on the part of some
so-called Assyriologists. I have felt myself called upon to refer to
this in other places, especially in my study of Delitzsch's Assyrisches
Woerterbiuh, which has recently appeared.* There are hundreds of
words in the Assyrian lexicon that are very doubtful ; they ought all
to be queried in any publication, and especially in a dictionary.
Many more words and derivations are doubtful than the Worterhuh
indicates. Letters and contract tablets abound particularly in such
unknown words, for reasons which are elsewhere given. Some of
these words we do not understand at all ; we have no clue to a
proper translation or explanation. Where this is true, I have
endeavoured simply to state the fact. All that can be expected of
Why that "Assyrisches Worterbuch " ought Never to Have Been
rublished. By S. Alden Smith, Leipzig, Edward Pfeiffer, 1888.
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iSS8.
anybody under these circumstances is to give a faithful copy of the
original, and to transcribe and translate as correctly as possible,
clearly indicating it wherever there is doubt. Now it is no easy
thing to give the original correctly where the words are unknown,
the tablets damaged, and the connection broken. Proper care is
too often not taken in the publication of texts. Compare my
" Prefatory Remarks " to my iMiscellaneous Texts. There is no
excuse for the mistakes that I have pointed out in DelitzscKs
IVdrttrbiich^ for he only deals with a few texts, and those amongst
the clearest and best preserved of their kind. I have had occasion
in my notes below to point out where my text differs from that of
Pater Strassmaier in his Alphabetisches Vcrzeic/iniss. I ought here to
say that I am much indebted to this book, and in connection with
my corrections, it is but fair to state that the mistakes are few
compared with the imniense mass of absolutely new material that it
contains; and these are, at least, partly to be excused, because some
of the texts had not been thoroughly cleaned, and since it is usually
in very doubtful passages that Strassmaier is at fault. Furthermore,
it would be more than human if there should not be found in this
large collection of texts, mistakes that could have been avoided if
the author had only had to do with two or three dozen documents.
In addition to all this, I feel myself compelled, in justification of
my method of dealing with the two books, to call attention to the
large pretensions to accuracy of the author of the IVorterhic/i, in
contrast to the unassuming Jesuit.
In order to avoid possible errors of copy in my absence from
London, Mr. Pinches has kindly read the first proof of what
follows, paying special attention to the original text. My thanks
are due to him for valuable suggestions.
There are very many new words in the following letters, and in
the attempt to find some reasonable translation and explanation of
them, I have compared many Hebrew words. Sometimes, also, I
have ventured to suggest an Arabic or Syriac root. I am aware how
dangerous this is, and how often Assyriologists have been led to sad
mistakes, and provoked Arabists to "ridiculous smiling." But
there seems to be no other course, and the simple suggestion of a
root without founding any discussion upon it will do no harm.
There is, however, no certainty in many cases that the Hebrew
corresponds to the Assyrian words with which they are compared.
Here again we meet with the very objectionable certainty method
156
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [iSSS.
of the "Assyriological Schools of the Continent." Many of their
comparisons with other Semitic languages have been cast aside.
How unwise, then, to have attached such certainty to them at first !
Explanations of these new words that occur in the letters are not
usually found in any lists of words that we possess. Then, it is a
question, whether we get in the lists the meaning that must be
attached to the word in the documents where it occurs. Often the
whole seems to make no sense when the meaning given in the
vocabulary is forced into a passage.
The so-called Akkadian and Sumerian side of the "lists," as
they are read by Assyriologists, certainly do not give meanings that
make probable sense in the class of inscriptions which I am now
studying. The occurrence of a word in one place in our vocabularies
with characters indicating a certain meaning according to our sign-
lists, do not, I am certain, define the word sufificiently clearly for our
use in difficult documents, whatever value may be attached to the
"lists" in general. I am, therefore, very doubtful of many words
that might seem, at first glance, to be 'explained by a passage.
Some of the following letters are so full of words unknown to
me, that the sense of them is by no means certain. Indeed, in some
of them, only the address and the greeting are certain. I give them,
however, hoping that other Assyriologists may be led to study them,
and be able to explain some passages, at least, where I have tailed.
K. 113.
Transcription. Tratislation.
A-na am. ikkaru (?) beli-ia To the chief of irrigation, my lord,
ardu-ka Rammanu-nasir thy servant, Ramniami-nasjr.
Nabu Marduk May Nebo, Merodach,
a-na am. ikkaru (?) be-li-ia to the chief of irrigation, my lord,
5 lik-ru-bu be gracious.
ki-ma a-na ki-ir-si As to the cold (?)
it-tal-ku they went,
ina libbi ki-ik-ki-si into the rain (? ?)
e-tar-bu they e?itered,
10 ultu am-ma-ka from the place (?)
i-sa-hu-ru-ni they turned ,
am. Su-u-i the SiTi
e-ra-ab etitered.
157
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIi/EOLOGY. [1888.
Remarks.
This text has never been mentioned anywhere that I have
seen ; it is wanting in Bezold's Hst, Literaturgeschichte^ p. 243. It
contains several new words, and the purpose of it still remains a
puzzle to me. It does not seem possible that what I have given is
correct, but I am unable to better it at present.
Line i, ikkaru. The character *-^^ is thus explained S*" 290.
Cf. W.A.I. II, 48, 10 e. f. and V, 16, 39 e. f., where the same
characters are explained by am. pin and ik-ka-ritin. The Hebrew
I3t^ is to be compared. But what the real function of this official
was, is by no means clear. He seems, however, to have been some
high official having the agricultural bureau, or some division of it,
under his charge. I have rendered it by " chief of irrigation," since
this must have been a subject requiring special attention in Baby-
lonian agriculture; but there is no proof that the translation is
correct.
Line 6, ki-ir-si. Cf. my note to K. 89, line 9, in the
Proceedings for November, 1887. The writing kir-si occurs below,
K. 511, line 10.
Line 8, ki-ik-ki-si. This word must mean something like kirsi
above, since it stands in parallelism with it. I cannot, however,
explain the word, for I have only met it once before, K. 568,
line 8, and know no word with which it can be compared. The
translation here, as has already been intimated, is very doubtful.
See, however, the passages which Delitzsch gives, Worterbuch.,
p. 113, wwdi^x igaru. The word there written ki-ik-ki-su is perhaps
identical with our word. Notice the comparison >-TT.<^ II = ki-ik-
ki-su = hu-llS-SH.
Line 10, Jiitii ain-ma-ka. This is probably the proper transcrip-
tion as, Mr. Pinches suggests. I am, however, unable to explain
am-ma-ka, and the translation is only supported by the connection.
Line 12, am. Su-u-i. I do not know what official this was ; I
have not met the title elsewhere in inscriptions, but it occurs in the
list W.A.I. II, 31, 87 1).
K. 146.
Transcription. Translation.
A-na sarri beli-ia To the king, tny lord,
ardu-ka Na'id-ilu thy servant, Na'id-ilu.
158
Jax. io]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
lu-u sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia
umu XXVII
5 I C XX sisu pa-ni-ia-te
sa Nabu-a-ni
ina Ur-zu-hi-na
ik-ta-ra-bu-u-ni
umu XXVIIP^*" ina lib-bi-
ma su-nu
10 umu XXIX''^" u-na mu-su
al-lak ina Sa-ri-e
u-se-bir-su-nu
umu XX'^^'"
ina Sa-ri-e-ma
15 ak-la-su-nu
a-di biti
arkute
i-kar-bu-u-ni-ni
i-si XX sise
20 ga-mu-zu
lup-su-hu
pur-ba-a-ni
Peace to the king, 7iiy lord.
On the 27/// day
120 horses of an earlier time
which Nebo-a?ii
into Urziihina
bro7ight.
On the 22>th day they were there ;
on the zgth towards (?) night,
I went to Sare,
I brought them over ;
the 20th day
in Sare
I shut them tip,
together with the house
of the later {ones).
They came to me
with 20 horses
botmd ;
they shall rest qtiietly
in the stimnter stables (? ?).
Remarks.
This text has been quoted by Pater Strassmaier, A V in several
places. Cf Begold Literattirgeschichte^ p. 246. It is one of quite
a large number of tablets referring to horses. I have published
several in Heft II of my Astirbanipaltexte. There are several
difficult words in this letter, and we need the connection in which
it stood in the correspondence to be able to understand it. The
writer of the letter seems to be only communicating to the king
what disposition he had made of certain horses about which there
had undoubtedly been previous correspondence.
Line 5, pa-ni-ia-te. This word seems to be from the root H^C-
Cf the form pa-ni-ttim, Strassmaier, A V No. 6939. See also
W.A.I. III, 51, No. 9, 1. 15 (K. 480) ^yy - j^ j^^ --y< y? --^y
KK *"'CL V/ ^ ^V '^*{' ^ "^^ ^'^^^ pa-ni-ti a-na sarri beli-ia as-ptir-
an-ni, "about which I aforetime to the king, my lord sent." I
suppose our word to have the same meaning.
Line 6. I am not certain how this name is to be read.
159
Jan. 10] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [1888.
Line 7. Instead of Tf>^ Strassmaier, A V No. 7344, has given
<y— yy<y doubtfully.
Line 8. Listead of ^y<y Strassmaier has doubtfully ^^, which
seems to me to be incorrect. In a j^rivate communication Mr.
Pinches confirms my reading.
Line 10, 7i-//a mu-sii. I am not at all certain as to the reading
or translation here. U-iia is, perhaps, a preposition, and mu-hi may
then be the usual word for " night," from the root 't2>')^.
Line 15, ak-la-su-nu. I derive this word from t^i73. Cf, the
Hebrew h^73 " to shut up, confine."
Line 17, ^S^^ y>-»-«-. This seems to be the reading of this
line ; it is the character which is explained by arkil " later," as
Strassmaier also transcribes {Cf.KY No. 1423), but a wedge is
wanting in his copy.
Line 19. The last character is certainly y>- and not y^>+- as
Strassmaier copies. The character j>ie often occurs instead of the
sign for the plural in these documents. Mr. Pinches confirms my
reading.
Line 20. The last character according to my copy and Mr.
Pinches' kind communication is *~»^yy; Strassmaier, however, seems
to have been in doubt. See A V Nos. 1423 and 1520. Ga-mii-zu
I have regarded as the same word as D03) which occurs very often.
Line 21, lup-su-hu. This word I derive from nil^Dj "to quiet
oneself."
Line 22. pur-ba-a-?ii. I prefer to transcribe with / instead of
b, as Strassmaier, A V No. 1423, does. Perhaps the Hebrew miQ
Persian 1, • "a sunny place, pleasant summer-house,'' is to be
compared. This is the only passage that I have found where this
word occurs, and there is no certainty as to its meaning or derivation.
K. 174.
Trmiscriptioti. Translation.
A-na sarri beli-ia To the king, my lord,
ardu-ka Nabu-na-din-sum thy servant Nahu-nadin-sum.
lu-a sul-mu a-na sarri be-li-ia Peace to the king, ?ny lord,
NabCl u Marduk a-na Sarri MayNeboandMerodachtotheking,
be-li-ia my lord,
160
Jan. io]
PROCEEDINGS.
[i88S.
5 a-dan-nis lik-ru-bu
ina eli sa sarru be-li ik-ban-ni
ma-a istu Ba-si-i du-ub-ba
ad-du-bu-ub ik-ti-bi
ma-a umu XV''''" lu-si-ib
IO ma-a umu XXII''^'' li-it-bi
ma-a umu XXIV ''^" sarru ina
eli nari
.... til-lu-su li-pu-us
u ik-ti-bi ma-a
ina pa-an sarri ni-id-bu-ub
15 sarru sa pi-i-ni lis-me
a-na-ku su-u
ina pa-an sarri ni-ru-ba
til-lu ki-i sa in-ni-pa-su-u-ni
ni-i-ni
ah(?) ki-im
kun(?)-du su-u
a-ki-i sarru
sa pi-i-ni i-sa-mu-u-ni
ina muh-hi sa is-bi sa sarru
25 is-pur-an-ni ma-a sa-me
a-ki-i sa ina li-'
sa-tir-u-ni a-na sarri
be-li-ia as-sap-ra
constantly be gracious.
As to what the king^ my lord, has
commanded
tJms : From Basi woi'd
I speak. He has commanded.
tJms: The \^th day, he shall remain;
thus : The 22nd day he shall march
foni'ard
thus: The 2^th (?) may the king
over the river
.... his work accomplish ;
and he has commanded thus :
Before the king zve have spoken ;
may the king from our mouth hear
/, he
befo7-e the king we ivill etiter
the work according as it has been
done (?)
me (?)
as the king
from our mouth has heard
As to what he wishes, about ivhich
the king
has sent to me thus : Hear (?)
As on the tablet
is written, to the king,
my lord, I send.
Remarks.
This text has been quoted by Strassmaier in several passages.
Cf. Bezold, Literaturgeschichte, p. 248. My copy differs in several
places from that of Pater Strassmaier. Many of the lines are wanting
so far that the sense is destroyed. It seems to be a report on some
work that the king had committed to the writer.
Line 6, ik-ban-ni. Strassmaier, A V Nos. 1766 and 41 1 6, has copied
Jf^y instead of <'^y, which does not seem to me to be possible.
Mr. Pinches writes me that ban is correct. The root is, of course,
.161
Jan. io]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.KOLOGY.
[iS88.
Line lo, li-if-bi \s the precative from t^^il, "to march forward."
Line ii. The nuipber here is broken away; it may be 23 as I
have completed it.
Lines 19-21 are so badly broken that I can only recognize a few
characters, but can give nothing in the translation. In Une 20 I am
indebted to Mr. Pinches for 7iu ; he thinks there is only one sign
lost. In line 21 the sign >f--<4'"HPff ^^ ^^'^^ mo^t probable, although
it is not certain.
Line 24, is-/>i. I prefer to transcribe these characters thus.
The root I regard as HH!?, "to wish;" it may however be a noun.
" wish, will." Cf. the Aramaic ^a!^, ]o .
Line 25. Strassmaier A V No. 319, has the first two characters
of this line altogether wrong. Mr. Pinches' reading agrees with
mine. — sa-me. Strassmaier transcribes sa-vie (?). If this be the true
transcription, the word may come from t^^Q'C?; "to hear."
Line 26, //-', " tablet." Cf. my note on this word in the Borsippa
Inscription, Babylonian and Oriental Record^ July, 1887.
K. 479.
Transcription.
A-na sarri kissati (?) be-li-ia
ardu-ka Ugar-Bel-lu-mur
Nabii u Marduk a-na sarri kis-
sati
be-li-ia lik-ru-bu
5 Samas u Marduk tu-ub lib-bi
u tu-ub si-i-ri
sa sarri be-li-ia li-ik-bu-u
a^jil Da-ku-ru nakise-ia
ih-te-it-tu uinmi-a
10 u ahe-e-a
ina bu-bu-ti id-du-uk
si-pi-ir-ti
a-na muh-hi-su
a-na sarri be-li-ia
15 ki-i as-pu-ru
ga-ma-ru-u
Translation.
To the king of multitudes., my lord
thy servant Ugar-Bel-luniur
- May Neho and Merodach to the king
of multitudes
my lord be gracious ;
may Samas and Merodoch joy of
heart
and health of body
of the king^ my lord command.
The son of Dakuru, as to my pro-
perty (?)
lias sinned ; my mother
and my brothers
7uith hunger he killed.
Letters
about him
to the king, my lord,
although I sctit
the accomplishment
162
Jan. io]
PROCEEDINGS.
[i8S8.
ul a-mur
ap-ta-la-ah
sarru i-di a-kan-na
20 ul su-su-bu-ta-ka
biti-a u am. ka-al-la-a
ia-'-nu-u ina Babili
im-mu-u-a sa ina pa-an
ummi-ia u ahe-ia
25 ak-lu-u apil Da-ku-ru
ih-te-it-tu
a-di II -su da-al-ha-ak
ina pi-i-ka el-lu
sa Samas u Marduk
30 i-kar-ra-bu-us
in-da-ak-tu
abu-a bita-ka
i-ra-ap-pi-is
en-na ina silli sarri
35 be-li-ia li-ir-pi-is
/ did not see.
I did ho/nage,
the king knows. Likewise,
thou didst 7iot cause to take
my house and my chief servant (?) ;
there was not in Babylon
my father-in-law whom before
my mother and my brothers
I imprisoned. The son of Dakuru
has sinned ;
twice I disturbed (fiini).
At thy glorious command
to whom Samas atid Aferodach
have been merciful
they were overthrown.
My father thy house
increased ;
tmder the protection of the king
my lord may it increase.
Remarks.
Portions of this text have hkewise been given by Pater Strassmaier
in A V. Cf Bezold, Literaturgeschichte, p. 261, for the passages.
The name of the writer is incorrectiy given by Strassmaier and
Bezold. The last character of line 2 is *^ = mur instead of
^y. See A V No. 631. Other differences of text will be pointed
out in the notes below. The writer of the letter is in trouble ; one
of his officials has committed a great offence ; he has killed the
relatives of Ugar-Bel-lumur. The letter complains that he has
previously sent letters about this man, but nothing had resulted
from it. The writer claims to be a faithful servant of the king.
The son of Dakuru has at last been overthrown.
Line i. The character |^ is not quite certain; Mr. Pinches
thinks he sees traces of it.
Line 3. After J:^=^ there is evidently another character, which
Strassmaier No. 631 has scratched; but it seems to be ]^.
Line 8. The first character here and in the same expression
line 25 below, Strassmaier has copied A V Nos. 1826 and 3100 as
^y . The text is not very clear, but I prefer the reading apil.
163
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
— N'akise-ia. The explanation of this ideogram is to be found
W.A.I. V, ir, 4 ef. {cf. ALS^ p. 127, Hne 52). Strassmaier, A V
No. 3100, transcribes sa sabani-ia, but it seems to me that the
passage requires the two characters to be taken as one ideogram,
and I cannot find S^TrT explained by sdbu, In explanation of this
word Mr. Pinches compares the Hebrew D33, and states that the
Akkadian pronounciation of ^ 5:JyT was probably tg-lag = miminu
kurbannu, "what may be given as a gift" or "earned," "property."
Line 9. The sign preceding the last Strassmaier, A V Nos. 1347,
1826 and 3100, has given as ^J doubtfully. My text seems to me
to be correct, and to give at the same time a better sense.
Line 15, ki-i. There can hardly be any doubt about the text,
although it is not very clear on the original. Strassmaier is un-
decided. See A V No. 6910.
Line 16, ga-ma-ru-u. In spite of the long vowel at the end
I have derived this word from 'yd'^- This is the only stem known
to me from which this word can come. Cf.Asurb., Heft II, p. 43, 18.
Line 19, a-kan-na. Probably Strassmaier is right in comparing
the Syriac ]ioai "sO' ^^^l^O' ebenso."
Line 20. I am not certain what the second character of this
line is. Strassmaier, A V No. 313, has "^^^f, which is perhaps
correct, though the front wedges are not very clear. Mr. Pinches
writes me that there are no traces of the front-wedges ul su-su-bu-
ta-ka. — This is undoubtedly the correct reading, and not ul-tu, &c.,
as Strassmaier has copied. Mr. Pinches confirms my reading.
Su-bji-ia-ka. The root is rQ!J-
. Line 21, a?>t. ka-al-la-a. This word I regard as the same as
that found in other places written in different ways. Beh. 44, 53
we have gal-la-a. W.A.I. V, 58, 1. 51, kal-li-e sarri "servants (?)
of the king." Cf. Zimvaern, Babylonische Busspsalmen, p. 28, note 2,
and p. 61. Probably the I:>^ *^ITT I'***' ^- 492, 1. n (see below),
is to be transcribed in this way, but I cannot now quote a passage
to prove it. The meaning is probably " servant."
Line 22, ia-nu-u. For this word cf my Asurbanipaltexte.
Heft II, p. 51, 22 ; 67, 25, and the Glossar.
Line 23, itn-mu-u-a. I derive this word from Jl^fc^a " father-
in-law." Cf Arabic i^U. .
164
Jan. io]
PROCEEDINGS.
[li
Line 24. Mr. Pinches thinks ^'^ ^ better than ^y][ according
to the traces. ,
Line 27, da-al-ha-ak, is ist pers. sing. Permansive from )171
"to disturb."
Line 31, in-da-ak-tu. This word seems to come from np?2
"to overthrow, fall."
Line 34, en-na. According to W.A.L II, 15, 9, this is to be
read a-di.
K. 492.
Transcription. Translation.
A-na sarri be-li-ia To the king, my lord
ardu-lca Rammanu-nadin ahi thy servant Rammanu-nadin-ahi.
lu sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia Peace to the king, fuy lord.
Nabu Marduk ana sarri beli-ia May Nebo, Merodach to the king,
viy lord
5 lik-ru-bu ina muh-hi
u-mu sa sarri be-li
is-pur-an-ni
dami-ik a-dan-nis
bi-it sarri be-li
10 ik-bu-u-ni
am. kale am-mu-te
ni-har-ru-ub
ni-sa-ak-ki
a-ra-me-ma
15 apil sarri
li-is-si
a-na-ku-ma mi-i-nu
a-kab-bi am. par-su-mu
sa te-en-su
20 la as-su-u-ni
sa sarru beli ik-bu-u-ni
ki-i sa ilu gam-rat
be gracious. As to
the day when the king, my lord
sent to me ;
fnercy constantly
the house of the king, my lord
has commanded.
Those servants
we have destroyed,
we have made high
the citadels ;
may the king's son
come forth (.?).
/ the number
conifuanded, the greyhaired tnan
whose report
has not been brought
whom the king, my lord commanded,
as the s~od arranged.
Remarks.
This letter has also never been published, except that Strassmaier
has given parts of it in his Alphabet. Verz. Cf. Bezold, Literaturges.,
p. 262. The name of the writer Strassmaier transcribes Rammdnu-
sum-usur instead oi Ra7nmanu-nddi7i-ahi. See A V No. 7505.
165 Q
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [i8S8.
Line 6. The first character is i^]]]i^ and not ^^ = sa, as
Strassmaiei^ Nos. 1206 and 1852, gives doubtfully.
Line 11, am-mu-te. Strassmaier's remark in A V No. 468, that
this word is " plur. m. von ammu wie ammate plur. f. ist," seems
to be correct. It is the same word as the Hebrew ntDH, which
Strassmaier also compares. See A V No. 463.
Line 12, ni-har-ru-ub. Other readings are possible, but this
seems to be the most probable. Strassmaier also reads thus,"query-
ing the second syllable. The root is I'm, the Hebrew, lin, " to
be desolate, waste." Cf. Pinches' Texts, 20, 9 ; 14, 14.
Line 13, ni-sa-ak-ki is H, i from npll?, "to be high." This form
means "to make high."
Line 14, a-ra-me-ma. This word occurs in but one other text
with which I am acquainted, W.A.L IV, 53, No. i, 1. 15 (K. 114)
sdbe sa Bit Da-ku-ri, " the captain of the fortress (?) and the soldiers
of Bit-Dakuri." Then again in line 2,Z ^^ T E^I? ]] ^I "^ fy ^
apil la-a-su-mu a-di am. kin-tii-su u am. a-ra-mi-su i-na lib-bi u-sis-sib.
" The son of la-sumu together with his family and the captain of his
fortress there I caused to sit." My translation seems to me to fit
especially well in our passage. Cf., moreover, the Hebrew |'i^*^ir^.
Mr. Pinches however gives the text as ha-ra-me-ma.
Line 16, li-is-si. This word must come from the root i^iDi-
Cf. Strassmaier, A V No. 6071, for other passages.
Line 1 8, «/;/. par-su-mu. Cf. my remarks in the Proceedings,
June, 1887, p. 244.
Line 22, gam-rat, comes from "^D^, "to complete."
K 502.
Transcription. Translation.
A-na sarri be-li-ia To the king, my lord,
ardu-ka Ik-ka-ru tliy servant, Ikkarii.
lu-u sul-mu a-na sarri be-li-ia Peace to the kitig, my lord.
a-dan-nis a-dan-nis Constantly, constantly,
5 Nabu u Marduk may Nebo a?id Merodach
a-na sarri be-li-ia to the king, my lord,
166
Jan. io]
PROCEEDINGS.
lik-ru-bu Adar
u Gu-la tu-ub libbi
tu-ub sere a-na sarri
IO be-li-ia li-di-nu
ina muh-hi I-rat-ti
sa sarru be-li-ia
a-di-il-ma
is-si-su
15 a-da-lul is-si-su
a-na pa-ni la-a il-lak
sarru be-li lu u-di
ki-i ma-ri-su-u-ni
ur-ki-te sarru i-na hi-ti-ni
20 . . . la-a i-sak-kan
. . . hi-si II u III
ip-pa-as tu-bu
lib-bi la-a e-mur
be gracious. May Adar
and Gula, joy of heart, '
health of body to t/ie king,
my lord grant.
As to Iratti
whom the king, my lord,
I imprisoned {Jiim) and
with him
I humiliated myself with him
before me he did not go.
May the king, my lord, know.
When they luere sick
the herbs (?) of the king for our sins
were placed
two and three
he made joy
of heart he did not see.
Remarks.
This text is not mentioned by Bezold in his Lit. It is, therefore,
entirely new. The letter is a report concerning a certain Iratti who
seems to have been commissioned by the king. The tablet is so
broken that some of the text is lost. There is very little here that
requires explanation.
Line 13, a-di-il-ma. The root is, perhaps, ~'1^^4) but this is not
at all certain. The meaning is certainly " to bolt in, shut up."
Line 15, a-da-lul. This is probably the proper transcription, but
it is possible to transcribe a-da-lib ; this latter word would come from
the root :i7"r, of which Dr. Heinrich Zimmern in his Babylonische
Busspsalmen, p. 93, speaks. Cf also my Asurb., Heft I, p. 93.
Line 18, ma-ri-su-u-jii. This word seems to come from the stem
\'y(2, " to be sick."
Line 19, ur-ki-te. The only word written in this way with which
I am acquainted is W.A.I. II, 26, 54, 41, 4. Cf Strassmaier, A V.
No. 2698. Cf. Zimmern, Bussps., p. 36, 7. Whether our word is the
same as this or not I am unable to decide.
167 Q 2
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1888.
K. 504.
Transcription.
A-na sarri be-li-ia
ardu-ka Istar-du-ri
lu-sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia
ina eli Nabu-sum-iddin
5 Nabu-irba am. asu
sa a-na sarri be-li-ia
ak-bu-u-ni an-nu-sim
.... am. apil sipri-e-a ina
pa-an
sarri be-li-ia a-sap-ra-su-nu
10 ina pa-an sarri be-li-ia
li-ru-bu sarru be-li
i-si-su-nu lid-bu-bu
ki-e-tu a-na-ku
la u-bar-ri
15 la a-ka-ba-as-su-nu
bi-it sarri be-li i-sap-par-sa-nu-
ni
Samas-bel-ahi
ultu Di-ri i-sap-ra
ma-a mus-sa-ra-ni-i
20 la as-su ina libbi igarate
sa bit ili la nis-kun
u-ma-a a-na sarri be-li-ia
a-sap-ra esten mus-sa-ru-u
lis-tu-ru lu-se-bil-u-ni
25 ina pi-it-ti ri-hu-ti
lis-tu-ru ina lib-bi igarate
§a bit ili lis-ku-nu
zunne ma-'-da
a-dan-nis i-ta-lak
30 sibirre di-e-ki
lib-bi sa sarri be-li-ia
lu-u tabu
Translatio7i.
To the king, my lord
thy servant Istar-duri.
Peace to the king, my lord.
About N^ahu-mm-iddiri {and)
Nabu-irba, the physicians
of whom to the king, my lord
I spoke, at once
with (?) my messenger to the presence
of the king, ?ny lord I sent them.
Into the presence of the king, my
lord
may they enter, may the king, my
lord
ivith them speak
faithfully (.?). /
did not decide,
I did not command them.
The house of the king, my lord sent
to me.
Samas-bel-aht
from Dirt sent
thus: Inscriptions
are fiot ; in the walls
of the house of God we have not
placed.
Now to the king, my lord
I send, may ofie inscription
be written, may it be brought.
Suddenly t/iey were destroyed ;
may they be written, in the walls
of the house of God may they be
placed.
Much rain
cofistantly shall co?ne.
May the harvest (when) threshed
the heart of the king, my lord
rejoice.
168
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Remarks.
There seems to be no reference to this letter except in George
Smith's Eponyin. Caiio?i, p. 85. {Cf. Bezold, Lit, p. 263.) The
purpose of the letter is to report that there are no inscriptions in the
walls of the temple, and to secure one for it. Some characters are
broken away, but I am able to restore all but one of them with
almost absolute certainty.
Line 5, a?}i. asil. I think this ideogram is to be read in this way,
but a proof passage I am unable to find. Cf. Pinches on the per-
mansive tense.
Line 8. I cannot tell with any certainty what was originally at
the beginning of this line ; I have supplied " with " in the translation
merely to make sense and fill up the space.
Line 13, ki-e-tu. I am not certain as to the meaning and deri-
vation of this word. Another passage where the word is written as
here is K. 596,17, ^^f <;gf ^^ ^^] t^ "^fl ^Ti !? ^III E?H ^- ^i^
la ki-e-tu i-si-e-a ta-da-bu-ub, " unfaithfully (?) with me thou hast
spoken." For passages containing similar forms, cf. Strassmaier,
Alphabet. Verz., No. 4449.
Line 14, u-bar-ri. The root of this word is evidently Jl^^; but
there are several different words in Assyrian which come from this
radical. We have the very common word barn, "to see." Cf
W.A.I. II, 2 1, 32, ab-ri-e, Sennach., VI, 27 ; Neb., Ill, 63, &c. An-
other well-known word is n"l3, " to bind ;" it is very common, as
Inrtu, "midst;" biriiii, "fetter." See W.A.I. V, i, 131, Sennach., I, 78,
&c. It is probable that the word bartii, ba-ra-7iii, W.A.I. V, 21, 23,
5, 31 {Cf Asiirhanipaltexte, Heft I, p. 99) comes from the same
radical. There is another word, however, to which Zimmern, Babyl.
Bussps., p. 50, 18, refers, which means "to decide." Cf W.A.I. II,
62, 36 ab, and the Hebrew ni2l> i Sam. xvii, 8. From this latter
T T
Stem I derive our word.
Line 19, mus-sa-ra-7ii-t. I regard this word to be the plural of
nmsaru, "inscription." Cf Asurb., Heft I, p. 106. The singular
occurs in line 23 below. The writing j instead of s is of frequent
occurrence.
Line 25, iiia pi-it-ti. I think this is the same expression as that
which I have explained in my Asurbanipaltexte, Heft I, p. 103, 61.
There is another word of a similar form which is mentioned in the
169
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
list of clothing, W.A.I. V, 14, 19b: 44b, and which corresponds to
the Hebrew ITCb^. See also Zimmem, Biissps., p. 39, note. — ri-hu-ti.
I think this is the correct reading, but it may also be read dal-hu-ti.
The root is t^jll- See Zimmem, pp. 83-4.
Line 30, di-e-ki. Cf. for this word the Hebrew p^'^, 2 Sam. xxii,
43. In the same manner we have ^y>^ tflf <^J£J K. 122, 38,
from the stem ^11 "to kill." Cf. further W.A.I. Ill, 40, 83
V, 16, 74-5.
K. 506.
Transcriptio7i.
A-na §arri be-li-ia
ardu-ka Asur-dur-pani-ia
lu-u sul-mu a-na sarri be-li-ia
am. rab L-ia su-u sa am. Ra-a-a Mu-tur^na-a-a
5 a-na am. ha-za-ni sa Mu-tur-na i-du-ka
ultu mar-kas il-li-kan-a-ni la il-li-ka
til-lu ultu ahe-su la e-pu-us
ultu pa-an ip-ta-lah XV am. Ra-a-a
ina ka-a-ti-su i-sab-bat a-na Akkada-a i-la-ka
10 it-tal-ku-u-ni ik-ti-bu-u-ni ana-ku An-da-la-a
a-na Su-pur-a a-sa-pa-ra mu-ku a-lik
am. arda-ni-ka se-ri-da it-tal-ka
am. arda-ni-su u-si-ri-da a-sib u-sa-hi-ir
am. apil sip-ri-ia ina irti An-da-la-a a-sa-pa-ra
15 mu-ku am. rab L ha-ni-u ultu sabe-su
mu-ku ikkasdu-u u ni-rab-a-ni gab-bu
ina muh-hi-su u-ta-hi-is-si
mu-ku at-ta-ri-di pi - tu su a-lik
ir-ti di-bi a-na Su-pur-a it-la-ka
20 am. rab L ultu am. sabe-su
ina Mar-hu-ha alu . . . . - te
sa Su-pur-a-a e-tar-bu
An-da-la-a e-ta-am-mar-su
.... bat-tu i-si-su i-sa [-pa-ra]
25 ma-a a-lik kunuku sa ameli
. . . . za al-la-ka lu tal- . . .
am. rab L-ia ultu Me-ra . . .
sa a-ri-te Mar-hu-ha-a-a
170
Jan. io] PROCEEDINGS. [i88S.
i-da-at An-da-la-a it-tal-ku-u-ni
30 ina harrana i-zu-ku-pu am. arda-ni sa sarri beli-a
it-ku-la as-su mi-mi-ni ina lib-bi-su-nu
la i-du-ku am. rab L u-ta-hi-is-su
is-su-har ina Mar-hu-ha e-tar-bu
an-ni-nu sa u-ma-a ri-it-bu a-du abi am.- rab L
35 ni-is-ku-u-ni la si-bu-tu la i-di-nu
am. ip-tu-gii-tu-ra am. arda-ni sa sarri beli-a
la-bi-ru-u-te sa ina lib-bi kam-ma-su-u-ni
u-se-su-u-ni i-du-nu
Translation.
To the king, my lord
thy servant, Asiir-di/r-fani-ia.
Peace to the king, my lord.
My captain of fifty, he 2vho the people of Ra and Maturna
5 for the mayor of Maturna killed,
from priso7i came to me, did not come ;
the order from his brothers he did not execute ;
at 7ny presence he feared, 15 officials of Ra
in his hands he took, to Akkad he went,
10 they came {and) comnianded ; I AndalcC
to Supur sent ; aftenvards (?) I went
thy servants brought down, he went
his servants I brought down, set down {and) besieged.
My messenger against AndalcC I sent.
15 Then (.?) the captain of fifty, everyivhere froni his soldiers
theft they captured, and we entered altogether.
Against him they pressed ;
then {?) I went down / tvent ;
agaifist command to the people of Supur he went,
20 the captain of fifty from his soldiers
into Marhuha
of the people of Supur entei-ed.
AndahV saw him
.... with him they sent{T)
25 Thus I went, the seal of the ....
my captain of fifty from ....
who {is) the gatekeeper {?) of the people of Ma rim ha
171
Jan. io] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [i8S8.
the force of Andalct ca7?ie
30 in the road they hung {theni). The servn?its of the king, my lotd
trusted to hi>n ; those who were ifi their midst
they did not kill ; the captaifi of fifty pressed forutard,
besieged, ifito Alarhuha entered.
This (man) ivho to-day pressed forward together with the father
of the captain of fifty
55 we are keeping not bound, not judged.
The Iptugutura, the servauts of the king, my lord,
the aged who therein ivere bound
I caused to come oiit. Judged.
Remarks.
This letter has never been referred to in the pubh'shed Hterature.
It is wanting in Bezold's Literaturges., p. 263. It is quite difificult,
and in some places where the words are all known, the sense is by no
means clear. The original is also only fairly well preserved, and in
some parts the characters are altogether lost. The letter is a report
on military operations, which can hardly become intelligible, when
the circumstances are all unknown.
Line 6, mar-kas. The root is DD1 "to bind." It, perhaps,
means "prison." — Il-li-kan-a-ni comes from the well-known stem
\^T\ 1 with the suffix of the first person.
Line 12, se-ri-da, I regard as III, i, from ITW "to descend."
The same word occurs in the next line, u-si-ri-da.
Line 15, ha-ni-u. This is an uncommon word, and I am uncertain
as to its meaning. Pinches in my Asurbanipaltexte, Heft 11, p. 59,
line 10, translates it "allgemein." These are the only passages with
which I am acquainted where the word occurs.
Line i 7, u-ta-hi-is-su. The root of this word is VH-- Cf Asurb.,
Heft II, p. 53, 13. U-ta-hi-is-su, line 32 below, comes also from
this stem.
Line 18, at-ta-ri-di is I, 2, from "l"^"). Some of the following
characters are so broken away that the sense of the line is destroyed.
Line 21. The character following ^^< is quite certainly *''^,
but I have no idea what follows.
Line 22. After the sign »^ the tablet is broken, but there
seems to be nothing lost.
172
Jan. io] PRCCEEDINGS. [1888.
Line 23. I cannot n-ake out what precedes the last character of
this hne, and therefore the whole passage is dark to me.
Line 24. The first character of this line may be Ii^yif, but it is
not at all certain. The last signs are probably to be completed
Line 26. The beginning and the end of the line are broken
away, and the entire connection is thus lost. My translation is here,
therefore, blank. Al-la-ka may mean " I went," but it is not certain
that the characters are to be grouped in this way.
Line 27. The end of this line is also wanting; it seems to be
only part of a proper name, but I cannot complete it. Mr. Pinches
transcribes esim me am. \sabe\.
Line 28, a-ri-te. For this word see my Asiirb., Heftl, p. loi,
Col. VII, line 2.
Line 36, i-zu-ku-pu. This word seems to come from the stem
npT) "to raise." The writing of ^ for p is very frequent.
Line 31, it-hi-la is from 7^n "to trust." — For 7ni-mi-7ii cf.
Pinches in my Asurb., Heft II, p. 63.
Line 2)Zi is-sii-har. The stem is "^llD, "to turn oneself"
Is-sa-hi-ir, line 13 above, is from the same root.
Line 34, ri-it-bu. It seems to me that there are several possible
stems for this word as far as the form is concerned. It may come
from (13,'1) "to be great," or from i"''!, "to strive" (Hebrew i'^'H),
or from ^.'^i^sj "to enter." The connection seems to be best
satisfied with the latter derivation.
Line 35, si-bu-tii undoubtedly comes from T^li "to take
prisoner." — I-di-nii is to be derived from |*i"7, "to judge."
Line 36, ajn. ip-tii-gii-tit-ra. I do not understand what official
is here referred to.
Line 37, la-bi-ric-ic-te is the plural of labirti, "old." The root is
'y^v- — Kam-ma-su-it-ni is from D?3l3-
K. 507.
Transcription. Translation.
A-na sarri beli-ia To the king, my lord,
ardu-ka Tabu-rub-esara thy servant, Tabii-rub-csara.
lu sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia Peace to the king, my lord.
173
Jan. io]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1888.
Asur Belit a-na sarri beli-ia
5 lik-ru-bu
Nabu-bel-sume
am. ki-e-pu sa Bi-rat
umu VII"^" i-na Asur
e-tar-ba a-sa-'-al-su
10 mu-uk a-ta-a a-kan-ni
ta-li-ka ma-a a-bat sarri
ina muh-hi-ia ta-tal-ka
ma-a a-ta-a am. hazanate
gab-bu il-li-ku
15 i-na pa-ni-ia i-zi-zu
ma-a at-ta la ta-li-ka
ma-a i-si sarri ma-a a-ta-a
mat Up-pa-a-a hu-ub-tu
sa Si-par ih-bu-tu-ni
20 ma-a a-ta-a at-ta
a-di am. ardani-ka
tu-u-si ta-bu-uk-u-ni
ma-a ina eli a-bi-te
an-ni-te at-ta-la-ah
a-ta-al-ka
25
May Asur and Beltis to the king,
711V lord,
be gracious.
Nabu-hel-mme,
the mayor of Birat
the seventh day into Asur
entered ; I have asked him.
Therefore now like^i'ise
thou shalt come thus ; the will of
the king
to me thou shalt bring.
Thus, now the aldermen
all sho7ild come,
before m^e stattd.
In such case thoii shouldst not come
then with the king. Thiis now
the people of Uppa the booty
of Sipar should plunder.
Thus note.' thou
together with thy servants
should go out {and) destroy.
Thus for these
overthroivs I will prepare (.? ?),
/ will come.
Remarks.
This text has, likewise, never been referred to or any part of it
published. It is wanting in Bezold, Lit., p. 263. The writer, Tabu-
rub-esara, seems to be reporting to the king his orders to an official.
The ends of some of the lines are broken away, but my completions
appear to me highly probable.
Line 9. The ^ at the end of this line is quite certain.
Line 12, ta-tal-ka is from the well-known root ^^Hj "to go."
Line 15. The completion zu is very probable; it makes a good
word and fits in the connection.
Line 20. The character ta at the end is quite certainly a correct
completion.
Line 22, ta-bu-uk-u-ni. The root of this word seems to be '7^^^-j,
" to destroy."
174
JAX. lO]
PROCEEDINGS.
[i888.
Line 23, a-hi-te. This word I have derived from ]n^b^i " to over-
throw," but this is not at all certain.
Line 24, at-ta-la-ah. I do not know the etymology or meaning
of this word, for I have never seen it before. My translation is
a mere guess which seems to me to suit the connection.
K. 508.
Transcription.
A-na sarri be-li-ia
ardu-ka La-an-se-e
lu-u sul-mu a-na sarri be-li-ia
as-su-ud am. Da-i-ka-ni-e
5 sa apil Babili
sa sarru be-li-a is-pur
im-mat-at naru a-na
am. hi-in-tar-a-a
pi-ta pi-sa-a-ti
10 i-tib-bu-bu en-na
a-du-u II am. hi-in-tar
este-en sa Ad-ha-sa-a
a-na apil Ba-bi-la
a-na-ku am. Da-i-ka-ni-e
15 at-ta-din
u umme
sa am. ra-si-tu
it-ti-im-ma a-na
apil Ba-bi-Ia
20 at-ta-din
Trafislatioji.
To file king, my lord,
thy servant Lanse.
Peace to the king, my lor'd.
With respect to (?) the Daikane
of the son of Babylon,
whom the king, my lord, has sent,
he has died. The river for
the Hintar
the crests (?) of white
covered entirely {?).
Notv tivo Hintar
07te from Adhasa
to the son of Babylon,
I the Daikane
gave
and the mothers
tuliom //?!?■ Rasitu
has determijied, to
the son of Babylon
I mve.
Remarks.
This text has never been published, but Dr. Bezold has copied
it {cf. Literaticrgeschichte, p. 263). As will be seen, I agree with
Mr. Pinches as to the name ; it seems to be La-an-se-e, though it
may not be altogether certain. It is a very difficult text, and many
words in it I cannot explain.
Line 4, as-su-ud. This word is entirely new to me, but it seems
to mean something like " with respect to." It may be only another
form of the well-known su-ud. — The official names am. da-i-ka-?ii-e
175
Jan. io]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
[1888.
here and in 1. 14, am. hi-in-tar-a-a, 1. 8 and 1. 11, and am. ra-st-tu,
I do not attempt to translate or explain.
Line 7, iin-mat-at. I derive this word from the common root
ma " to die."
Line (),pi-ia. This word has given me no little trouble to explain,
but it seems to me to be connected with TiClSl, of which I have
spoken in the note to K. 504, 1. 25. The meaning is "covering,"
here perhaps " crests,"
Line 10, i-tib-bu-bu. There are several possible readings. This
is the same Assyrian word as that which is translated elsewhere
by " speak, plan " (^^"T), but this does not seem to me to fit in
this connection.
Line 18, it-ti-im-ma. I derive this word from nil^i "to de-
termine." Cf. the Hebrew nib^ (m^)-
K. 511.
Transcription .
Translation.
A-na sarri be-li-ia
Ardu-ka Marduk-sakin-sum
lu-u sul-mu a-na sarri
be-li-ia Nabil Marduk
5 a-na sarri be-li-ia
lik-ru-bu gul-gul-la-te
si-na sa ina lib-bi til-li
ka-bu-u-ni
nu-se-ri-ba-a
I o ina kir-si
ku-zip-pi nu-sa .... sim
ina lib-bi ni-is-kun
mi-i-nu sa sarru
be-li i-kab-bu-u-ni
15 lis-pur-u-ni
To the king, my lord
thy servant Marduk-sakin-sum.
Peace to the king,
my lord. May Nebo, Merodach
to the king, my lord
be gracious. The women,
they who to the work
were commanded,
we have caused to enter ;
in the cold,
{in the) snoiu (J?) we caused to . .
there ^ve placed {them).
the number which the king
my lord has comnianded
may they send.
Remarks.
This letter is also unmentioned by Bezold. Although it is a
very small tablet, several words are unknown, and the text in one
place is doubtful, so that the meaning of the whole is quite uncertain.
Line 6, gul-gul-la-te, is an entirely unknown word ; it occurs only
176
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., January, i8SS.
Plate I.
K 113.
V, -^r ^:?? -^r -\ v/
r? -^r t^ -tET -^ j^ v/
5- iiy -^'U -^.
- -7rr <iij -ri^ m ^\]
-T? «^ ^-
^fc >w ^R till ^
Reverse.
rroc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., January, iSSS.
Plate II.
K 146.
^^ « ^r -^
-Ti^ ^r<T ^^rr ^- < ^
-^I « l}^ ^EE - -711 :^ ^ri -7^
-• 7 « v^ ^^ m- -^\^\
Reverse.
-^ ^^ "^^ < ^ ^
20. ^yyy.- >^ -^yy
^v --y y? j^
Froc. Soc. Bibl. Anh., /aiiuaiy, iSo8.
Plate III.
K 174.
-^r -j:H y -+ -B --"T <i< >^
-Hh -B < ->f <:^-^r Tr -^i j^^ -^ ^ V7
5- n ^\]] « IH iin ^^-
^T V, j£Tir r --I "^Tr ^t ^] ^^ ^^-
-^r ^y -^^ ^t^ ^y;^^ <y^ -
^rn -7 <7;^ ^ i^ <r- i^i
lii^e^iT <!^y M I -s^ ^- ^T
^ ^ ->f >^E^ ^ s^y iif^^ ^t^
15. ^:?^ ^ir -> -^ iff: <r I-
Reverse.
<m m m ^t ^n ^i^ j^ ^ .^t < j^
^yy ^y- t^ j^ 5.^ V >^^ < ^
^ <--H4 ^!T 5.y :^ ^yy ^i^
35- ^n ^v ->f jfF ly r? >^ y
-^ ^ j^y? 5<3: ^idi ^^yy
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch.^Janiiaiy, i8SS.
Plate IV.
K 479.
>^^y xt\A y M -^^^ >;^yii h rg
-^y^y^yt < ^h^ <:^^^y y? .4 j^^ I
-^ j^ E^y^r IH <ji ^-
< m\ ^ <i- ^E -yyi
e:^: y '^y<y "i^y <^i ¥ -iii i^ E^y?
^ ^^y "Ey^y iMy spy y?
10. < ^,. :i^ ^, \\
- -^^ ^- K^ '^y^y ^y ^;e^
<i^ ^y^ ^>. xK
y? :i!y :<-y^y 4 i
y? .4 J^^ -^ Jt^ E^y?
<-Y y? m
Reverse.
^^y ^w -^y ^
20. <^y<^^y -c-i -^- ^^y::^y^y
^u} < ^ -^y '^i^y -^y yj
BVr 4^ "T^ < ^ #;^ -4- iyiy
4'^ >^ -^ y? ¥ - 5^ ->f
25. ^y-y- H -^y? ^r y ^y<y ^^y <ji
m: ^y ^y/^y iMy
]] ir-y yy |^ '^y<y '^[ly g< .y-y-
^ 4- E^ ::^y^y t^u liy
¥ ->f 4 < ->f <:^^^y
30. iB x^yy? -eH ^- Jr^y
t> '^y<y -y^y^ ^ly
-ly ]} j^y -y^y
E^ tn ^^y -V ^yy
-n .iy - '^y <^^ ^^
35. ^ ^ BVr ^^y4 j^ ^v i^yy
Free. See. Bib!. Aieh., JcTiumy, iSSS.
Plate Y.
K 492.
--^^ -^H ]-^ A^>^\
-H^ -15 ->f <:^-7 r j^^ -n v/
5- IH ill! ^- ^ <-^Id[ 4
-w ^ *irr j^:?5 -^ iff:
<y '} -M^ ]] ^Wy «
^4^ >^rrr f- jt^ ^ ^y
Reverse.
Vy -^r ]^ ^r <^^ ^^ y-
-t] ^ B < ^
20.
rroc. Soc. Bihl. Arch., /amiary, iSSS.
Plate VI.
K 502.
It •^ I ttjJHPf- *^ >-ff- TT
-i:^r -^H y -M^ -^Id ill!
T? -yy? :« v, -yy? «
y? -^y fci^ -^ tTf t^y?
IH -un ^- ->f tr^y Id!'
<y-iiiy ->f ^-^^ -^y uiet -t^ -^yyy
im -^ j^-< y— Vf -^y ^i^
10. ^ ^ -^i]^ ^^ry <yi^ ^
- <-^H ^ y ^t -yy- ^y<
y]f <y^ tt^]]^}
^^ '^y I
15- y? E?yy ^y^ ^y '^yy i
v,^]^^ -t] ]\ ^^yy ^jn
ti^ -^ ^ iHiy 5.yir^ <r^
<:^ ^t t} -yyi ^r-^ j^yyy- ^
iH <iiy x^y ^:^ y? -^y ^ <y^ ^
2°- 1^^ -^y y;^ ^t '^^w -^
^MA -t]] yy < yyy
HI ^ ^ HIET x^-
-^yyy ^ -t] v, ^v. a^
Proc. Soc. Bibl. AicJi., January, iSi^S.
Plate VII.
K 504.
-^I -^H T ->f <V7 ^r -III.
5. y -4- ^ >-^yy -^ v, -^w \--
^yy y]f -^y j^:^ -^ ^ w
-B ^- < ^ff -^^ '7^ ^^yy
mm ^^ y? nn -y? w-^-^
^^^^ W y? ^Hy ^-yy i v-
10. - ^ ->f fcg:^ ^ ^ V/
-^yy ill! x^- ^^-^^
j^^ •^yy I "T^ <::: x^- ^-
m^v, x^^y y^ -^y iiy
-ly-^ >f -yyi
15- -ly w >^y -^y ^ i -^
:^ ^y ti:^ -^ j^ j^^ j^ldy -^y V -7^ ^ ■
y -Hf- -7 -n '^
i^^yyy -^yy m^ -yyi -^ ^hi ^^yy
^y w ^^-yyy< v ^^yy ^ ^^
20. .^y ^ jr ^ .^yyyy .yyyy ^.^^ y._
Reverse.
By-yyyyy->f -ly « >f^->yyyy
-yyy- ^y y? y? --^y t^^ ^ ^
TYY
TT
yi ^idy ^^yy -yn ^>yyy< v tiii<
^ niEr iin iHiy ^ ^:^t^y < j^
25. - ^y ^y -^y<-yy;-yi -<y<
MiiEy -:in - -^yy ::: ^yyyyy ^^^^^ y>
^yy 5^yyyy -^ \m >^
yi ->f y— ^y ^->f E?yy
y? '^yyi « -^ j^yyy -ju
30. ^q^r y^^ ^y^ .yY ^y^
^yyy ^ ^yy ^i:^ -^ ^ \v
M < ^ 5.yyy.-
Pi-oc. Soc. Bibl. ArcJi., Jaiutary, i8S8.
Plate VIII.
K 506.
:r --H I ^-v E^0 <i- ^r
j::<fTf -yy- ^ ^>^yy -^si ^bv, ^ -ii ^^yy -e^tt -^h
<f^y ihu j^yyy t-Jmi y— i -^y ^Vr ^- ^r
j^yyy!?=->f HI j£yyy^yyy<<V7 ^:?s ^yri^yy y? ri?
- >^y y^ -^y< i -t -1 ^ y? -^r \" ^-^^ y; ^h -t] -^h
10. s^r ^yy^iu < jrfr: -yi<^ ^ ^- < ^ y m y ->f ^yy ^^y ]\
y? ^y \^ ^y ^v y][ y!f4s^^^yy>^iiy y? ih
^:?^ -j:^y y^^^^ j^: -t]d ^^ -III ^yy siy -yyi --h
^^ ^^i y^^^^ j^ z, -^yy -yy -yyi ^yy yi; ^MJ -vyy^ >^ 4 Jw:
^:^ y? y- -yy; ttVy - -^^ y ->f E?yy -^y y? Vr ^^ ^^yy
x5- >^ iiy ^:?s ^y- ^^^ ]f;< ^ < ^yyy ^:w -ly— i
>^igf^-"'^ <y-iEfj j^ j^:^ y? j^ff -^ ^-
-<--H4i -yyy- &^yyy ^ 5.y ^^yy
>^ in ^y j^yyy -yyi <y:^ ^y- -mm ^y i Vrm
m-<<<w t^Vy^v^'Mn'vvy ^^y -^y^-H
20. ^— ^y^ <<< j^yyy t:^ <^} y^.. ^
^ .-yy ^yy^ ^yz ?;^< -^yyiiPP^y
^yy ^ ^y ^v y? y? ^^y? --2^^* ^-
y ->f ^yy -^y y^ ^y;; j^yyy ^^y- z.
^yy-^^y ^t'^in ^^-mmm
35- ^yy^ y^iH ^i^mm^i t^
jt Vr -ui -^y -tB mi -yyiF:fi
^:^^y-<^^ ttv, j^yyyyy- t^uu
Reverse.
^yy -y yi? -yyi ^^y -^yy -yy- -yz ?^< yn^
^t E?yy ^^y y ->f t?y y -^y y? n^y -yyi iiy < ^
30. ^ ^ ^^ -.^yy lii ^- 1^ ^-y y-- j^ ^yy j^— ^q^ yr
s^y wi-t]-^i <tt <tt ^ ^ ^^yy t^ i>7^
^^y-^j^yiiy ^:^ ^y- <^^ -^ j^yyy 4 -y tr-^
5^y^£yy 4^ ^--yy ^yy^ ^ri ];^ ^yi; ^ ^^
->f j^Tf -7^ ^yy ^yyy- ^y Vy -yyi ^y x^- y;; j^y -^y ^:^ ^y- <<<^
35. ^ jr<yy in < ^ ^^y ^^yy ^^^ ^7 .^y ^^ <y>^ y-
^^ im -^y tr-^ -m m t^ -::^y y— m m^ ^^^ -n y?
-^y ::: m ^yyy^- ^^y ^yyy - -^y c: ^^ ^y -^yy < ^
!^yyy- X^ ^t|E < J^ erasion ^^ -;<y >/"
* Perhaps complete.
Proc. Soc. Bihl. Arch., January, iSS8.
Plate IX.
K 507.
5- iH iiii ^-
r ->f ^ -n -^ r--
10. >^ <v7t y;f j^yyr y^ y^ ^^ ^
Reverse.
15. ^^ -^y ^ j^ xt\\ ^t -w-t -^yy
^y y? ^ly j^yyy -^y j^yyy -s^yy -^h
^y y^ 5^^ "^yy « '^y w \\ m\ w
\- ^^ ^ y^ y; ^\\ ^^ .^y
•^yy -^yy ^^yy '\ ^^yy ^- -1 &??
2°- "By w w >^yyy y? ^^y ^yir
y? <y^ ^:?^ ^-y y^>^ ^^idfii
-^y < ^^yy ^^yyy ^-^^sk<^
^y y][ - <-^H y? :n: ^y
->f x^ ^y j:^y j^yyy ^^y A-m
25- y? tiyyy i^i<j -^h
Plate X.
Proc. Soc. BihLA)<:Ji.,Januaiy, i8S8.
10.
15-
K 508.
H ^ 4^r ^w^i^^
>-Tf TT
*^h ^i^ *^h Vy Vr H^K
^ -ET -^- -^- -A ^4
Reverse.
-^r
<h^] :4m W-
%]A] >4< 4-^- ^I Vr ^4
Hff >^i
Proc. Soc. BihI. Arch., Janiiaiy, iS88.
Plate XI.
K 511.
IH -:iii ^^- <c<:r <^^r -^i ^^r
•^y ^- < ^
•7^ ^^ -Til --r r?
Reverse.
^5- <T ^V < J:ff
Pfoc. Soc. Bibi. Axh., January, iSSS.
Plate XII.
K 526.
r? ^v^ «
'v^ ^- ^rr ^:?^ -q. xtw
- ^^ '^^ A-< U\\ -J:^? A^
Reverse.
- -^r V 4^ ^]] -x^, ^r<^
Jan. io]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
here as far as I know. I think it is to be connected with gallu,
" servant." We have here a feminine form, and if my explanation
be correct, it means "female servants."
Line 11, ku-zip-pi. This is another unknown word. Since it
stands in connection with kir-si, I have given it a like meaning.
- — I am not able to read the sign preceding the last. This word
occurs also K 183, 1. 29, where this meaning does not seem to fit.
Mr. Pinches thinks ]^ may be a determinative for "clothing." —
The wanting sign, Mr. Pinches thinks, may be ^'JEj.
K. 526.
Transcription.
A-na sarri beli-ia
ardu-ka Nergal-eti-ir
lu-sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia
a-dan-nis
5 a-na mat sa sarri sul-mu
lib-bu sa sarri beli-ia
a-dan-nis lu tabu
ina ilmi VP"" sa airu
am. kur-bu-tu
10 ina muh-hi'ia
it-tal-ka
ina umi VIP^" §a airu
sise
u-ta-lak-u-ni.
Translation.
To the king, my lord,
Thy servant, Nergal-etir.
Peace to the king, my lord.
Constantly {inay there be)
to the cou7itry of the king, peace.
May the heart of the kifig, my lord,
constantly rejoice.
On the sixth day of the month lyyar,
the contractor (?)
to me
came ;
on the seventh day of the mo7ith lyyar
the horses
arrived.
Remarks.
This is likewise an entirely new text. No mention of it is
made by Bezold, Lit., p. 264. It is simply a note to say that cer-
tain horses had arrived.
Line 9, atn kur-lm-tu. The root is ^"^p. In this connection, it
seems to me to mean something like " contractor."
177
Jan. 10] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [i8S8.
The next Meeting of the Society will be held at 9, Conduit
Street, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesday, 7th February, 1888,
at 8 p.m., when the following Papers will be read : —
I. — P. LE Page Renouf, President: — "Pronominal Forms in
Egyptian, their relation to Semitic."
II. — Major Arthur H. Bagnold, R.E. : — " Account of the
raising of the two Colossal Statues of Rameses II at Memphis."
o^^i
ERRATA.
The number on the last number of the Proceedings should
have been LXXI in place of LXX ; and the name of the author
of the communication, "An Inscribed Fragment of Wood from
Thebes," should read, F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A. (on the cover).
17S
Jan. io] proceedings.] [iS88.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE
LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY.
BoTTA, Monuments de Ninive. 5 vols., folio. 1847- 1850.
Place, Ninive et I'Assyrie, 1866-1869. 3 vols., folio.
Brugsch-Bey, Geographische Inschriften Altaegyplische Denkmaeler. Vols.
I— III (Brugsch).
Recueil de Monuments Egyptians, copies sur lieux et publies par II.
Brugsch et J. Diimichen. (4 vols., and the text by Dumichen
of vols. 3 and 4. )
Dumichen, Historische Inschriften, &c., ist series, 1867.
— ■ ■ 2nd series, 1869.
Altaegyptische Kalender-Inschriften, 1886.
Tempel-Inschriften, 1862. 2 vols., folio.
Golenischeff, Die Metternichstele. Folio, 1877.
Lepsius, Nubian Grammar, &c., 1880.
De Roug6, Etudes Egyptologiques. 13 vols., complete to 1880.
Wright, Arabic Grammar and Chrestomathy.
SCHROEDER, Die Phonizische Sprache.
Haupt, Die Sumerischen Familiengesetze.
ScHRADER, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament. 1872.
Rawlinson, Canon, 6th Ancient Monarchy.
PiERRET, Dictionnaire d'Archeologie Egyptienne. 8vo. Paris, 1875.
BuRKHARDT, Eastern Travels.
Wilkinson, Materia Hieroglyphica. Malta, 1824-30. {Text only.)
Chabas, Melanges Egyptologiques. Series I, II, III. 1862-1873.
Voyage d'un Egyptien en Syrie, en Phenicie, &c. 4to. 1867.
■ Le Calendrier des Jours Pastes et Nefastes de I'annee Egyptienne. 8vo. 1877.
Phillipe Virey, Etudes sur le Papyrus Prisse.
E. Gavet, Steles de la XII dynastie au Musee du Louvre.
Ledrain, Les Monuments Egyptiens de la Bibliotheque Nationale.
Nos. I, 2, 3, Memoires de la Mission Archeologique Fran9ais au Caire.
Sarzec, Decouvertes en Chaldee.
Lefebure, Les Hypogees Royaux de Thebes.
Sainte Marie, Mission a Carthage.
Guimet, Annales du Musee Gumiet. Memoires d'Egyptologie.
Lefebure, Le Mylhe Osirien. 2nd partie. "Osiris."
Lepsius, Les Metaux dans les Inscriptions Egyptiennes, avec notes par W. Berend.
Moldenke, Ub. die in. Altaegyptischen Texten erwanten Baume u. deren
Verwerthung.
D. G. Lyon, An Assyrian Manual.
A. Amiaud and L. Mechineau, Tableau Compare des Ecritures Babyloniennes
et Assyriennes.
Brugsch, Entzifferung der Meroilischen Schrift d<-nkmaler. i Abth.
Erman, Aegypten u. Agyptisches Leben im Altertum.
2 parts, Mittheilungen aus der Sammlung der I'apyrus Erzherzog Rainer.
RoBiou, Croyances de I'Egypte a I'epoque des Pyramides.
Recherches sur le Calendrier en Egypte et sur le chronologic des Lagides.
Pognon, Les Inscriptions Babyloniennes du Wadi Brissa.
NEW SERIES.
IRecorbs of tbe past
BEING
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
OF THE
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.
Messrs. Bagster intend to issue a new series of " Records of the Past,"
the first two volumes of which will appear early in the year, 1888, under
the editorship of Prof. Sayce. He will be assisted in the work by Mr. Le
Page Renouf, Prof. Maspero, Mr. Budge, Mr. Pinches, Prof. Oppert.
M. Amiaud, and other distinguished Egyptian and Assyrian scholars.
The new series of volumes will differ from its predecessor in several
respects, more especially in the larger amount of historical, religious, and
geographical information contained in the introductions and notes, as well
as in references to points of contact between the monumental records and
the Old Testament. It is proposed to publish translations of Egyptian and
Assyrian texts in the same volume.
The size of the volumes will be as before, crown octavo. Price, y. 6d.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
ITbe JSvonse ©ntaments of tbe
palace (Bates from Balawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, II, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordance with the terms of the original prospectus, the price for
each part is now raised to ;^i loi'. ; to Members of the Society (the original
price) £\ IS.
Society of Biblical Archeology.
COUNCIL, 1888.
President : —
P. LE Page Rendu f.
Vice-Presicietits : —
Rkv. Frederick Charles Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.
Lord Halskury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., &c., Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart., D.C.L., M.D., &c., &c.
J. Manship Norman, M.A.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury.
Council :-
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, M.P., &c.
Rev. Charles James Ball.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A.
E. A, Wallis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Gates.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, D.D.
Thomas Christy, F.L.S.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A.
Rev. Albert Lowy.
"Rev. James Marshall. "'c-T]
f. d. mocatta."
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
J. Pollard.
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
E. TowRY Whyte, M.A.
Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
Honorary 7;-m5«;Y/-— BERNARD T. BOSANQUET.
Secretary — W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A.
Honorary Secretary for Foreign Correspondence — Prof. A. H. Sayce, M.A.
Honorary Librarian — William Simpson, F.R.G.S.
IIAKKISON AND bO.NS, IKINTUKS IN OKUINAKV TO IIKK jMAJESTV, ST. MAKTIN S LANE
VOL. X. Part 4.
PROCEEDINGS
THE SOCIETY
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
-^;e>-
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION,
FourtJi Meeting, yth February, 1888.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Professor E. Am]£lineau. — Histoire des deux lilies de
I'Empereur Zenon. Read 6th Nov., 1887 181-206
Robert Brown, Junr., F.S.A. — Ugro- Altaic Numerals:
One — Five 207-2 1 4
Rev. C. J. Ball. — Inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar II. Part II.
The Phillipps' Cylinder 215-230
J. Offord, Junr. — The " Peoples of the Sea" of Mereneptah . 231
PUBLISHED AT
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
188 8.
[No. LXXIII.]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
n, Hart Street, Bloomsbuky, ^V.C.
PRICE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
ol. I, Pa
It I
I, ,
2
H, ,
, I
n, ,
, 2
in, ,
, I
, in, ,
, 2
IV, ,
, I
IV, ,
, 2
V, ,
, I
V, ,
, 2
VI, ,
, I
VI, ,
, 2
, VII, ,
, I
„ VII, ,
, 2
, VII, ,
; 3
, VIII, ,
, I
, VIII, ,
, 2
„ VIII, ,
' 3
IX, ,
, I
ol. I, Sc
^sion
I87S-79
11,
,,
1879-80
III,
I 880-8 I
IV,
1881-82
V,
1882-83
VI,
1883-84
„ VII,
1884-85
„ VIII,
1885-86
IX,
1886-87
X,
„
1 88
7-88
To Me
MBERS.
s.
d.
10
6
ID
6
8
0
8
0
8
0
8
0
10
6
10
6
12
6
10
6
10
6
10
6
7
6
10
6
10
6
10
6
10
6
10
6
10
6
PROCEEDINGS.
To NoN-
Membeks.
s. d.
6
6
6
6
6
12
12
10
10
10
10 6
12 6
6 per r.irt
6 ,, .,
12
15
12
12
12
10
12
12
12
12
12
12
2
2
5
5
5
6
6
6
3
in progress.
A few complete sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may be
obtamed on application to the Secretary, W. H. Rylanus, F.S.A., 11, Harl
Street, Bloomsbury, \Y.C.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
Fourth Meeting, ith February^ 1888.
P. LE PAGE RENOUF, Esq., President.
IN THE CHAIR.
The following Presents were announced, and thanks
ordered to be returned to the Donors : —
From the Author : — Ueber die in altagyptischen grwahnten Biiume
und deren verwerthung.
Inaugural-dissertation zur erlangung der Philosophischen
Doctorwiirde an der Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universitat Strass-
burg von Charles E. Moldenke, New York. Leipzig. 8vo.
1886.
From the Author : — Das Gedicht vom Harfenspieler. Eine demo-
tische studie. Von Heinrich Brugsch. 4to. 1888. Berlin.
Auszug aus der Zeitsch. fur ^gypt. Spr., 1888.
From the Minister of Public Instruction : — Catalogo Generale
dei Musei di Antichita e degli Oggetti d' Arte raccolti nelle
Gallerie e Biblioteche del Regno edito per cura del Ministero
della Publica Istruzione. Seria Sesta. Toscana ed Umbria.
Volume I. Roma, 1887.
Museo Archeologico di Firenze. Antichita Egizie ordinate e
descritte da Ernesto Schiaparelli. (Parte Prima.)
[No. Lxxiii.] 179 R
l-ER. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [iSS8.
The following has been purchased by the Council for
the Library of the Society : —
A Biography of Richard Lepsius, by Georg Ebers. Translated
from the German by Zoe Dana Underbill, New York, U.S.A.
1887. 8vo.
Publications of the Exhibition Committee of the Anglo-
Jewish Historical Exhibition : —
No. I. Papers read at the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition.
Royal Albert Hall, London, 1887. 8vo. 1888. '
No. n. Jll'^tSli^- Hebrew Deeds of English Jews, before a.d,
1290. Edited by M. D. Davis. 8vo. 1888.
No. in. Bibliotheca Anglo-Judaica. A Bibliographical Guide to
Anglo-Jewish History. Compiled by Joseph Jacobs and Lucien
Wolf Svo. 1888.
No. IV. Catalogue, Edition de Luxe. Compiled by Joseph Jacobs
and Lucien Wolf Illustrated by Frank Haes. Folio. 1888.
Ordinary Catalogue.
The following were submitted for election, having been
nominated on January nth, and elected a Member of the
Society : —
Miss E. M. Harris, 9, Queen's Square, W.C.
Rev. Thomas West, B.A., The Manse, Antrim, Ireland.
The following Candidate was nominated for election at
the next Meeting on March 6th : —
Rev. R. H. A. Bradley, M.A., la, Russell Square, W.C.
A Paper was read by P. Le Page Renouf, President,
entitled " Pronominal Forms in Egyptian, their relation to
Semitic." To be printed in a future number.
Major Arthur H. Bagnold, R.E., read an " Account of
the manner in which he raised the two Colossal Statues of
Rameses II at Memphis," which will be printed in a future
number of the Proceedings, with a series of plates from the
photographs exhibited.
180
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
HISTOIRE DES DEUX FILLES DE L'EMPEREUR
ZJ^NON.
By Professor E,. Amelineau.
Read dth Novejjiber, 1887.
II existait autrefois dans la litterature copte toute une serie de
recits de pure imagination sur lesquels I'attention des savants ne s'est
pas portee jusqu'ici. Depuis plusieurs annees deja je soupgonnais
qu'il en avait du etre ainsi, et j'avais exprime cette idee dans le
premier memoire que j'ai public sur les documents coptes ; * un
sejour prolonge dans la vallee du Nil, des rapports frequents avec
les derniers survivants des antiques moines de I'Egypte, m'ont
convaincu que les celebres ascetes de la Thebaide ou de la vallee
des Natrons, tout comme leurs ancetres, aimaient fort les nouvelles
et les romans. Leur genre de vie leur laissant beaucoup de
loisirs, ils employaient agreablement ce temps k la lecture ou k la
composition d'oeuvres romanesques dans lesquelles les auteurs cher-
chaient la satisfaction de leur gout litteraire et les lecteurs les
douces emotions ou I'etonnement que donnaient a leur esprit naif
les ceuvres de cette sorte. Pendant leur enfance, les moines
^gyptiens aivaient eu leurs oreilles et leur imagination charmes par
les antiques recits, toujours conserves dans la vallee du Nil, sortis
du calame des scribes de la cour pharaonique ; il eut ete penible pour
eux de n'avoir dans leur vie d'homme fait aucun plaisir du meme
genre, plaisir innocent entre tous. Tout d'abord les moines
instruits purent sans doute se procurer cette jouissance par la
lecture des anciennes oeuvres, conservees dans les papyrus demo-
tipues ; \ mais la connaissance des ecritures anciennes, meme de
I'ecriture demotique, devenait de plus en plus rare, et en outre, les
contes ou romans pharaoniques si vieux, si connus, ne repondaient
phis aux besoins des generations egyptiennes qui'avaient embrasse
le Christianisme, et surtout des hommes ou des femmes qui avaient
* Cf. Voyage (T tin moine Mgyptien dans le desert, dans le Reateil de travaux
relatifs.ci la Phil, et a I' Arch. Egypt, et Assyr., VI' annee, p. 189^ — 194.
t Le fait est hors de doute. On sait que le papyrus demotique contenant
le conte de Satni a ete trouve dans la tombe d'un moine. En outre, dans les
premieres annees du VIP siecle, I'evequede Keft Pisentios, pouvait encore lire un
rouleau demotique contenant les noms des defunts dont les momies se trouvaient
dans un tombeau. Cf. E, Amelineau : £tude stir le Christianisme en £gypte en
VII' slide, p. 44 et p. 144.
181 R 2
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
embrasse la vie religieuse. A une religion, a des temps nouveaux,
il fallait une litterature nouvelle ; on la crea. Nous ne possedons
de I'antique litterature romanesque de I'Egypte qu'un tres petit
nombre de recits pharaoniqties;* plus heureux sous ce rapport pour
Tepoque chretienne nous avons encore aujourd'hui un grand nombre
de romans et jiouvelles de I'Egypte chretienne. Jusqu'ici personne
n'a soupgonne cette richesse.
II serait malheureux cependant que ces ceuvres restassent plus
longtemps dans I'oubli. Elles sont en effet une preuve manifeste
de ce fait que je me suis efforce dans mes publications precedentes,
et que dans mes publications futures je m'eflbrcerai toujours de
faire pr^valoir, a savoir que I'Egypte chretienne resta toujours fiddle
a son antique caractbre, et qii'avant d'etre chretienne elle fut
egyptienne. Dans aucune autre serie d'ceuvres litteraires ce fait ne
se presente avec plus d'evidence a I'esprit que dans les ceuvres de
pure imagination. Je n'en veux pas entreprendre ici la demon-
stration, cela m'entrainerait dans des developpements tout-h.-fait
hors de saison : cette demonstration je I'ai faite ailleurs, et elle
paraitra, car je compte publier bientot un premier recueil de ces
legendes et romans de I'Egypte chretienne. Je veux simplement
attirer ici I'attention sur I'une des plus curieuses et des plus celbbres
de ces nouvelles, celle qui etait connue parmi les Chretiens d'Egypte
sous le titre 6!Histoire des detix filles de Zhioji : je ne crois pas
qu' aucune de ces nouvelles puisse servir a demontrer plus peremp-
toirement I'existence de la litterature dont je parle que cette
pr^tendue Histoire des deux filles de Zeno7i.
Le Zenon dont il est ici question est bien I'empereur Zenon
de Constantinople, I'auteur du celebre decret d'union connu sous
le nom d'Henotique. \J Histoire de ses deux filles montre qu'il
eut une grande popularite parmi les moines du desert Libyen.
11 suffisait aux moines que I'empereur de Constantinople ne fut pas
partisan du roncile de Chalcedoine pour etre regarde comme le
plus pieux des empereurs. A ce titre Zenon etait regarde comme
un saint. Pour mieux prouver leur gratitude envers cet empereur
qui ne les avait pas persecutes, les moines de Scet^ et de Nitrie
en firent le heros de I'une de leurs pieuses nouvelles. On le mit
en scbne avec ses deux filles parcequ'il e'tait de tradition dans la
* lis sont tous compris dans la belle publication dc M. Maspero : conte
populaires de F^gyptc ancienne.
182
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888
vallee du Nil de choisir les rois les plus populaires pour en faire
les heros des legendes et des contes dont le peuple etait si
friand. Je ne sais si I'empereur Zenon eut deux filles : I'histoire
n'en parle guere ; mais je crois bien ne pas me tromper en
affirmant que s'il eut des filles, I'ainee n'alla point se faire
religieuse dans un convent d'hommes a Nitrie, et que pour guerit
la seconde, quand elle etait malade, il n'etait pas oblige de
I'envoyer en Egypte prier les moines du desert libyque de lui
rendre la sante. La maniere dont est raconte cette touchante
histoire est un preuve qu'elle est sortie tout entiere du cerveau
de I'auteur. Au fond, le re'cit se resume en ceci : L'empereur
Zenon perd I'ainee de ses filles qui s'enfuit a Nitrie pour mener
la vie religieuse : il la retrouve par le moyen de la seconde qui
tombe malade, et qu'il envoie obtenir guerison a Nitrie ou la
cadette est guerie par I'ainee bientot reconnue. Du premier coup
d'oeil, on voit que c'etait la un canevas tout pret a recevoir
les broderies dont I'imagination de I'auteur voudrait I'orner. Je
ne crois done pas qu'on puisse le moins du monde songer a
y voir un fait reel qu'on aura amplifie et orne. D'ailleurs on n'a
qu'a soigneusement examiner la maniere dont le recit se developpe,
et surtout les parties sur lesquelles I'auteur insiste davantage. En
outre, si le fait eut ete reel on ne rencontrerait pas dans cette
litterature d'autres recits similaires, reposant sur la meme donnee,
h savoir la vie d'une femme parmi les moines de Scete et les suites
plus ou moins naturalistes qui en decoulent ; or, pour ma part, je
connais trois ou quatre autres recits ayant la meme donnee
fondamentale. Je ne veux pas rechercher ici quel etait le mobile
des auteurs coptes en introduisant ces extraordinaires invrai-
semblances dans leurs oeuvres ; mais je dois dire toutefois que
I'element feminin jouait un grand role dans cette litterature, meme
I'element feminin dans ce qu'il a de plus abject et de plus re-
poussant. Au fond, toutes ces noiivelles sont des Histoires
edifiantes, car la grace finit toujours par triompher ; mais quelque
fois et souvent ce triomphe n'est pas facile, et les peintures ne
sont guere edifiantes. Pour m'en tenir a V Histoire des deux filles
de Zenon, I'auteur se rendait parfaitement compte par lui meme
que les details du recit n'etaient pas tres edifiants, car il fait dire
k I'empereur Zenon qui ne connaissait pas le trompe I'oeil mis
en avant par I'auteur. "Vraiment je n'ai jamais entendu dire que
les moines osassent baiser les femmes sur la bouche, ni coucher
J83
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
avec elles sur le meme banc!" De semblablcs passages sont le
triomphe de I'art pour un romancier ou nouvelliste copte ; car si
le personnage ne connait pas les dessous de Taction, I'auteur et
le lecteur les connaissent et ils jouissent par avance de tout
Tetonnement des personnages au denouement. J'ai pu moi-meme
juger de I'effet produit par cet art enfantin ; car dans le sejour que
j'ai fait a plusieurs reprises dans les monasteres coptes, j'ai entendu
raconter des histoires semblables, et, en de semblables passages,
c'etait une chose vraiment curieuse que d'observer la physionomie
des auditeurs : evidemment ils se trouvaient beaucoup plus in-
telligents que le personnage en action, ils souriaient de pitie a sa
meprise, et jouissaient avec intensite de sa stupefaction finale : peu
sen fallait qu'ils ne prissent la parole et ne lui reprochassent son
ignorance comme son manque complet d'intelligence et de bon
sens. Evidemment, ils s'interessent aux personnages du recit d'une
autre maniere que nous : de la les differences dans la mani^re de
composer et I'emploi de ces moyens que nous regardons comme
enfantins, et qui leur semblent le comble de I'art.
L'un des ces moyens ^tait de mettre le recit sur le cdmpte d'un
auteur connu ou d'un personnage venerable dont personne ne
pouvait revoquer en doute I'autorite. J'ai explique ailleurs* com-
ment grace a ce mot de passe, I'auteur s'attirait la confiance et la
croyance de ses auditeurs et de ses lecteurs. L'auteur de YHistoire
des deux filles de Zcnon n'a pas manque de se servir de ce moyen :
le recit est attribuee dans la version arabe, qui seule contient la fin,
a un certain moine nomme " le saint Anba Bemfoua." Or un per-
sonnage du meme nom joue l'un des principaux roles, dans le recit :
c'est le superieur, I'hegoumene des laures de Scete a I'epoque au
se passe Taction, et si Ton cherche par sa transcription arabe a
savoir quel etait le nom copte de cet saint moine, on trouve que
le nom arabe de Bemfoua est la transcription exacte du copte
Pambo.f Aussi Pambo est le nom qui se trouve dans le texte copte.
Ce nom de Pambo n'est pas inconnu : il est ceiui de Tun des
premiers solitaires de Nitrie, compagnon de St. Macaire, et qui
* Cf. Voyage (Tun moine ^gyptien dans le desert,'^. 190- 192.
+ La difference qui existe cntre ces deux mots est purement exterieure : ils se
pronon^aient de la meme maniere. Le Fl copte se pronon9ait b ; le li comme
un V en tirant sur la lettre/; T CO a ete rendu par oua: ainsi TTAJUL^CO =
184
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
vivait sous le patriarchat de Theophile d'Alexandrie, c'est-k-dire
sous les regnes de Theodose et d'Arcadius, Dans Xhistoire laicsiaque
on trouve un autre Panibo, qui est donne comma le successeur de
St. Antoine, et comme le maitre des Longs freres ; mais il n'est pas
hegoumene de Scete.* Ni I'un ni I'autre de ces deux Pambo nt
saurait etre I'auteur de notre conte, car ils etaient de beaucoup
anterieurs au regne de Zenon. Le nom fut sans doute commun
en Egypte, et il put y avoir a Scet^ un second hegoumene du meme
nom,t mais je serais assez porte a ne pas accorder grande confiance
au nom lui-meme, et je suis tente de croire que le nom de Pambo
est donne a I'un des principaux personnages de notre conte parce-
qu'il avait ete celui d'un des plus grands moines de Scete. Ainsi
on le faisait entrer en scene au meme titre que I'empereur Zenon,
et il pretait simplement son nom pour la plus grande credibilite du
recit.
Quant au recit lui-meme, il est vraiment fort curieux a plus d'un
titre, comme Ton pourra s'en convaincre. II est bien regrettable
que nous ne I'ayons plus en entier sous sa premiere forme : il n'en
reste plus en effet que deux fragments, a ma connaisance. Le
premier de ces fragments consiste en quatre feuillets qui se suivent :
il est la propriete particuliere de Lord Crawford, qui a bien voulu
me permettre le copier, et auquel je renouvelle ici mes plus sinceres
remerciements. Le second se trouve au Musee de Leyden : il
consiste en un feuillet simple, tout dechire, et contenant les der-
niferes lignes du dernier feuillet du premier fragment, plus quelques
autres lignes dont on ne pent tirer parti. On trouvera plus loin le
texte et la traduction de ces deux fragments. Si nous en etions
reduits a ces restes, il serait possible, malgre tout, de se faire une
idee tres juste du recit, et des moyens employes ; mais fort heureuse-
ment il nous en a ete conserve une version arabe, ou tout au moins
un abrege, dans le synaxare copte, au 21^ jour de Touba, c'est-a-
dire le 17 Janvier. Comme on s'en convaincra par la comparaison
des deux textes, le traducteur ou I'abreviateur n'a pas toujours
compris I'original, ou I'a change sous sa propre responsabilite.
* Hist, laus., ch. x. Dans les fragments de riiistoire lausiaque conserves en
copte ce Pambo est appele II^^JULCJO ; mais c'est bien le meme personnage.
C/ E. Amelineau, De Historia lausiaca, p. 92-104.
+ Nous avons les noms de plusieurs hegoumenes de Scete k cette epoque, et
le nom de Pambo ne s'y trouve pas. Cependant la raison n'est paS concluante.
.i8s
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
C'est une preuve de plus que les copistes copies n'ont jamais pu
reproduire fidelement un original : je I'ai dit bien souvent : cepen-
dant les preuves nouvelles seront toujours les bien venues.
Et maintenant voici \Histoire des deux filles de Zenon telle que
le Synaxare nous I'a conservee :* Et encore en ce jour (17 Janvier)
niourut Hilaria, la fille du roi Zenon. Ce roi n'avait pas d'enfant
male; mais il avait deux filles encore vierges qu'il eleva selon les
preceptes de la morale. II les instruisit tout d'abord dans I'ecriture,
et leur fit apprendre les Psaumes par co;ur. L'ainee des filles du
roi se nommait Hilaria : elle aimait la virginite et surtout la vie
r^ligieuse ; mais elle craignait de se rendre dans les monasteres de
Byzance f parcequ'elle savait qu'on ne la recevrait pas par peur
de son pere; (cependant) elle s'appliquait a apprendre ce qu'elle
devait faire pour entrer dans la vie pure des moines. Un jour le
roi se rendit avec sa fille a I'eglise a I'heure de la messe. Alors
Hilaria, femme digne d'etre enviee, leva les yeux au ciel et se dit
en elle-meme : " O Seigneur, si tu m'as trouvee digne de ces pures
prieres, et si tu veux faire reussir mon chemin, fais moi entendre
des versets (de I'Ecriture) indiquant le but que je dois atteindre."
Et lorsqu'elle fiit entree dans I'eglise, elle preta I'oreille et entendit
les paroles du grand Apotre : " Par la foi, Moyse ne voulut pas
etre appele le fils de la fille de Pharaon ; il prefera souffrir avec
le peuple de Dieu, sans accepter les delices et les faveurs tem-
porelles."} En suite (elle entendit lire) dans I'Epitre Catholique :
" La richesse de ce monde passe comme I'herbe et le foin ;" § puis
dans les Actes des Apotres : " Je ne desire ni or, ni argent, ni vete-
ment, et vous savez que mes mains m'ont procure ce dont j'avais
besoin;"l| et encore dans les Psaumes: "La joie qu'il donne est
plus douce que Tor et les pierres precieuses, que le miel et ses rayons." %
Et encore dans I'^vangeliste : " Celui qui ne renonce pas a tous
ses biens ne pent pas etre mon disciple."** Et dans I'Homelie
sur I'Evangile qui fut lue apres I'Evangile (elle entendit) : " Pour-
* Cette histoire se trouve dans mon exemplaire, et aussi dans celui qui se
trouve au Vatican. Je ne doute pas qu'elle ne se trouve dans quelques autres :
mais je n'ai pas cu le temps de verifier.
t Mon exemplaire porte ^J jJk.L;iJi ce qui doit etre une faute, pour
,..v> Juu-ill =Bysantion.
X Epist. ad Hcbr., xi., 24, 25. § Ep. Caih. /ac, i, 10.
II Act. Apost., XX, 33, 34. T Psal. xix, il. ** Luc. xiv, 39.
186
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
quoi, 6 homme, prends-tu soin de ce qui passe puisque tu le
laisseras ? Sache que les passions de ce monde cesseront : ne te fie
pas aux richesses, car les richesses restent ici bas ; mais les peches
nous precedent devant le tribunal de Dieu." Hilaria glorifia Dieu
en disant : " Certes, Dieu a fait reussir ma demarche, et a rendu
men chemin facile!" Et lorsqu'ils eurent regu la paix, elle se
prepara a fuir et Dieu, dans sa bonte, lui indiqua ce qui devait
la faire sortir. Dhs le lendemain elle prit les habits d'un spathaire,
mit une ceinture de cuir de Taif, prit une baguette dans sa main,
et sortit du palais vers la mer sans que personne s'en aper9ut. Elle
trouva une barque prete a partir pour la ville de Saphira, et elle
dit au batelier, "Je veux que tu me debarques sur la rivage de
la ville d'Alexandrie, car j'y vais par I'ordre du roi." Le batelier
repondit : " Nous ne devious pas y aller, seigneur spathaire, mais
puisque c'est service du roi, nous ne devons pas retarder la chose."
Ainsi, ils la conduisirent a Alexandrie.
Elle etait, alors, agee de douze ans, et elle etait belle de corps,
j^tant dans I'eglise d'Anba Botros, le dernier des martyrs,* elle le
pria et lui demanda secours. Elle se rendit en suite dans I'eglise
du Saint Marc, et le pria de lui faciliter son affaire. Elle trouva
un diacre, nomme Theodore, et elle lui dit : " La paix soit avec
toi, 6 frere ; je veux que tu viennes avec moi au desert de Schiit, t
car je desire vivement visiter cet endroit, et je te paierai ton salaire;
j'ai quitte mon pays uniquement pour visiter ce lieu." Le diacre
lui dit : " O mon seigneur le spathaire ! il y a bien longtemps que
moi-meme je desire voir ces lieux : peut-etre Dieu veut-il mainte-
nant que j'y aille ! mais mangeons d'abord du pain, et demain nous
nous mettrons en chemin."
Quant a cette femme vraiment digne qu'on I'envie, elle lui dit :
" Combien est douce la parole que tu as dite ! " Et elle tira (de sa
bourse) un dinar qu'elle lui donna en disant: "Prends cela, achete
avec tout ce qu'il nous faut." Le diacre prit le dinar et le depensa
pour ce dont ils avaient besoin. Le lendemain ils louerent des
anes et se mirent en marche vers I'eghse d'Abou Mina.:}: lis y
* C'est I'archeveque Pierre qui fut en effet le dernier martyr sous Diocletien
d'apres la tradition egyptienne.
t C'est le veritable nom du lieu nomme ordinairement Scete.
X Ce Mina est un saint tres populaire, c'est celui qu'on represente antra deiuc
chameaux, par allusion a un recit populaire sur ses reliques.
187
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1SS8.
passerent la nuit jusqu'au lendemain. De la, ils se dirigerent vers
Schiit, et lorsqu'ils y furent arrives on dit au pretre Mar Bemfoua :
" Voici un spathaire qui arrive en compagnie d'un diacre." II
ordonna de I'introduire en sa presence, et lorsqu'ils furent venus,
il frappa des mains comme c'est I'habitude des moines, il pria, et
lorsqu'ils se furent assis, il leur tint une conversation longue et
profitable. Quant a cette femme digne d'etre enviee, Hilaria, elte
adressa la parole au pretre pur en disant : "J'aimerais que tu me
revetisses de I'habit des moines afin que je pusse rester ici." Et le
pere Bemfoua I'aima, et lui dit : " O mon fils, tu .ne peux rester ici :
car tu es un fils de la richesse, et tu es accoutume au bien etre du
corps ; mais si tu veux embrasser la vie monacale, va trouver
Aniatoun, car il te recevra,* et il y a en ce lieu une foule de riches
qui se sent faits moines, y vivent sans peine, et y trouvent ce qui
les console ; mais nous autres, nous sommes loin de I'Egypte, loin
de la plaine, du pays et des villages, de quatre jours ;t nous n'avons
rien qui nous console, nous sommes genes et manquons d'habits.
Mais toi, tu ne peux endurer une nourriture grossiere et une vie
triste." Et cette femme digne d'etre enviee, Hilaria, elle repondit :
" Sache, 6 mon pbre, que je suis venue en cette montagne sainte
de tout mon cceur : si tu me renvoies, tu seras responsable a mon:
egard devant Dieu." Et lorsque le vieillard pur, Anba Bemfoua, eut
entendu ces paroles, il s'etonna de I'habile reponse du jeunehomme,
il se leva et lui donna une demeure pour elle et pour le diacre.
Quant au diacre, il se fit be'nir, et retourna a la ville. Quant a
Hilaria, la fille du roi, elle dit (au pere) : " O mon pere, re^ois ce
peu de chose de ma main et partage-le entre les pauvres." II lui
dit : " Nous n'avons en rien besoin de cela, le travail de nos mains
nous suffit. Si tu as quelque chose, donne-le au diacre qui I'enverra
au patriarche." Alors Hilaria lui donna tout ce qu'elle avait a la
main, plus la baguette d'or et sa ceinture ;■ et voici que le diacre prit
conge d'eux et les quitta.
Alors voici que cette femme digne d'etre enviee se retourna vers
le saint Anba Bemfoua et lui dit; "O mon p^re, j'aimerais que tu
* Le texte de mon MS. est corrompu en cet endroit. Le mot Aniatoun est
peut-elre un nom de lieu, il est procede de I'article, ;j^»l?ljsj^\ ^\.
t Le texte de mon MS. porte |^A*J.l t quarante : c'est ^videmment une
faute. Quatre jours sont maintcnant plus que suffisants pour aller a Schiit.
188
Pek. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
me revetisses de I'habit des moines." Et le pere I'examina, I'epouva
dans son examen, lui apprit les peines de la vie religieuse, lui donna
un bonnet* tout rapiece et le vetement de poils : sur le champ elle
le revetit apres qu'il eut prie sur les vetements. II ne savait point
que c'e'tait la fille du roi, et il lui donna une cellule a cote de sa
cellule, il la voyait tous les jours et Dieu la favorisa, elle se mit a
parler la langue de I'Egypte. Elle faisait d'excessives devotions de
jeline et de priere. Les freres s'etonnaient de la finesse de sa peau
(et se demandaient) comment elle supportait ces habits grossiers.
Lorsqu'elle eut vecu ainsi pendant neuf ans, comme la barbe ne lui
avait point pouss^, on la nomma Hilaire le Saqlabi.\ Par suite du
grand nombre de ses jeiines, de ses prieres et de la rigueur de sa vie
religieuse, ses mamelles devinrent seches, et ce qui arrive aux femmes
cessa d'avoir lieu pour elle. Et lorsqu'elle eut ainsi vecu longtemps
(a Schiit) ses parents perdirent tout espoir a son sujet ; mais Dieu,
que son nom soit beni, voulut la faire retrouver a son pere.
Or, sa petite soeur, un Satan entra en elle, mechant et mauvais.
Son pere, le roi Zenon, I'envoya, escortee de soldats et de gentils-
hommes, vers de nombreux monasteres, et aux cellules des vieillards
devots ; mais Dieu ne la guerit pas par leur entremise, car il voulait
glorifier Hilaria. Les grands du pays donnerent un conseil au roi,
disant : "Que notre Seigneur le roi vive a jamais. Sache qu'il y a
dans le Ouadi Habib des moines purs et saints : envoie leur ton
enfant, et nous croyons que la jeune fille obtiendra guerison par
leurs prieres saintes." Quand le roi eut entendu ces paroles il se
rejouit beaucoup, il prepara des serviteurs, % des servantes et des
soldats et il envoya la jeune fille. II ecrivit une lettre au gouverneur
d'Alexandrie afin que celui-ci lit conduire la jeune fille a la montagne
de Schiit. Le roi ecrivit aussi aux vieillards une lettre (con^ue) en
ces termes : "Celui qui n'est pas digne de la royaute, Zenon, a qui
Dieu a donne cette grande faveur malgre son indignite, ecrit aux
* Le texte a le mot Ij" mitre. Je pense qu'il s'agit du bonnet pointu encore
en usage en ^Egypte.
t Le mot ^^U-uJl correspond au copte CIOTp = eunuque.
X Le mot employe ici par le texte arabe est jJaIjL:' ; il correspond au
copte CIOTp. II designe un corps d'officiers sous les Mameluks. L'emploi de
ce mot est un argument pour la date de la traduction. Cf. Quatremere, Histoire
des Sultans Mameluks. •
189
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [188S.
p^res saints, pieux, amis, ceux qui implorent Dieu pour le salut du
monde entier, aux devots, aux solitaires, aux moines qui habitent la
montagne de Schiit, nommee la Balance des ca'urs:* la paix soit
avec eux. Avant toute chose, voici que je me prosterne sur mon
visage devant votre saintete. Lors, je vous informe, 6 mes p^res, de
ce que la Seigneur m'a fait a cause du grand nombre de mes peches.
Le Seigneur m'avait donne deux filles : I'une m'a abandonne, je n'en
sais point de nouvelles, et je suis dans une grande detresse a son
sujet. Et pendant que je souffrais de cette grande tristesse, est
venue a moi une autre douleur plus triste encore que la premiere,
car ma fille, celle qui me restait, croyais-je, pour me consoler et me
faire oublier, au lieu de sa soeur, un Satan s'est empare d'elle, il la
tourmente nuit et jour, jusqu'au point qu'elle en est venue k dire que
la mort lui donnerait plus de repos que la vie. Et les plus grands
personnages du palais m'ont conseille a son sujet de I'envoyer a
votre saintete. Et maintenant voici la conclusion de I'espoir que
j'ai en vous, c'est que Dieu ne refusera pas (d'exaucer) vos prieres, et
qu'elle sera guerie par vos supplications."
Et lorsqu'elle fut arivee dans la ville d'Alexandrie, I'emir sortit
au devant d'elle avec de nombreux soldats ; il se rendirent au
monastere, ils prirent la lettre du roi,t ils la donnerent au saint
Anba Bemfoua. Or voici qu'il rassembla les freres et leur lut la
lettre. Et lorsqu'ils eurent commence de prier, le Satan se saisit de
la jeune fille et se mit a la jeter a terre en leur presence, si bien que
I'emir fut dans I'etonnement, avec tous ceux qui I'accompagnaient,
et qu'ils dirent : " Comment ce Satan ose-t-il agir ainsi au milieu des
saints?" Quant a la sainte Hilaria, lorsqu'elle eut vu sa jeune soeur,
elle la reconnut, et son coeur fut plein de douleur a son sujet ; elle
pleura ; et lorsque les freres la virent triste de coeur, il s'attristbrent
aussi. Lorsque sa priere fut finie, Anba Bemfoua appela I'un des
freres et lui dit : " Re9ois cette jeune fille pres de toi en ta cellule et
prie pour elle jusqu'a ce que Dieu I'ait guerie." Le frbre dit avec
modestie : " Je ne suis point arrive a ce degr^ (de perfection), et je ne
* Le roi Zenon savait le copte, on le voit, puisqu'il fait un jeu de mots sur le
sens du nom Schiit, ecrit non pas CllIHT". mais CtJiP,HT", ce qui donne la
signification susdite. C'etait bien le moins que les moines prctassent de leur esprit
au saint empereur.
+ Mot a mot : il sortirent.
J 90
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
rcQois point cette femme dans ma cellule." Alors Anba Mardorios*
dit :" Confie la a Hilarion le Saqlabi." Et on lui confia sa soeur, elle
pria pour elle et pleura si bien que la terre en fut trempee : elle
I'embrassait, lui baisait le visage, dormait avec elle sur le meme
banc, la tenant entre ses bras. Apres sept jours le Seigneur lui
accorda la guerison. Quant a I'emir, au general et aux soldats,
ils firent I'offrande pour eux le dimanche, et s'en retourneront a
Alexandrie. Quant a la jeune fille, la grace de Dieu lui fut
accordee, et ce mechant Satan la quitta. Alors on la confia aux ser-
viteurs, aux femmes et aux soldats qui s'en retournerent tout joyeux
de ce que le Seigneur avait fait reussir leur voyage. f Quant aux
vieillards ils ecrivirent une lettre au roi Zen on ecrite en ces termes :
"Les humbles qui demeurent a la montagne des Natrons ecrivent au
vainqueur et au victorieux, au maitre de leur esclavage, Zenon
le pieux. Avant toute chose, nous tombons a terre et nous nous
prosternons devant ta grandeur respectable et venerable : que Dieu
garde ton trone et qu'il consolide ton royaume comme celui de
David et de Salamon, d'EzechiasJ et de Josias et qu'il le conduise
sans trouble. Sois sain et sauf dans le Seigneur a cause du soin
que tu prends pour I'Eghse du Seigneur le Messie, notre Dieu,"
Cette lettre parvint au roi, et il se rejouit beaucoup de la guerison de
sa fille : il fit des festins aux pauvres et donna en aumones de grandes
quantites de biens. Or, voici qu'il dit a sa fille : " Que t'est il arrivd
a Schiit?" Elle repondit : ''On m'a confiee a un moine saint et
devot nomme Hilarion le Sag lain : c'est lui qui a prie pour moi et
je suis guerie. II etait plein de pitie pour moi, et souventes fois
il couchait avec moi sur le meme tapis et le meme banc. Pour moi,
mon pere, j'avais entendu dire que les moines haissaient les femmes,
et que pour cette raison ils se retiraient au desert ! Comment celui-ci
a-t-il agi ainsi ? Je n'en sais rien."§ Quant au roi, en entendant
les paroles de sa fille, il fut rempli d'etonnement et dit: "Pour un
moine qui chasse les Satans, ce n'est guere le chemin qu'il doit
* On ne sait ici ce que c'est que ce Mardorios ; mais le texte copte nous
renseigne a ce sujet. De meme on est tout surpris plus loin de voir un general ;
le texte copte nous previendra qu'il avait accompagne le gouverneur (i'lfmir).
Ce sont bien la des preuves d'abreviation.
t Mot a mot : leur chemin.
X Mon MS. porte Ezechiel, ce qui est une faute evidente.
§ Ces paroles sont mises par le texte copte dans la bouche du roi, et se
trouvent ainsi mieux a leur place. C'est une preuve des libertes que les scribes
copies prenaient avec leurs modeles.
191
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
suivre : c'est une methode nouvelle." Et voici qu'il ecrivit une
seconde lettre a Schiit en disant : " Le victorieux, le vainqueur,
Zenon le roi, ose ecrire aux peres pieux, purs, de la montagne de
Schiit. Je suis reconnaissant de votre bienveillance et de la faveur
que vous m'avez faite, je me suis endette envers vos freres. Conime
je ne peux accomplir tout ce que je dois a votre saintete, je vous
prie de m'envoyer le frere Hilarion, car j'ai au coeur une maladie,
et je ne peux pas aller sur mer et faire ce grand trajet a cause
de mon mal. Le bruit de sa saintete est parvenu jusqu'a nous,
nous avons confiance en lui, et quand il sera pres de nous, nous
trouverons profit a ses prieres."
Et lorsque fut arrivee la lettre du roi, et qu'elle eut ete lue
devant tous les moines, le saint et pur Bemfoua appela Hilarion
et lui dit : " Fais tes preparatifs, 6 frere, car le roi t'envoie chercher."
Quand cette femme digne denvie eut entendu ces paroles, son
caur s'attrista, et les freres la consol^rent en disant : " Va en paix,
que le Seigneur soit avec toi, et reviens a nous sain et sauf." lis
envoyerent avec elle deux freres et deux vieillards, et ils partirent
pour Constantinople. Lorsqu'ils furent arrives, le roi en fut tout
joyeux et ordonna de les introduire ; il alia lui-meme a leur
rencontre et dit : " Priez pour moi, afin que le Seigneur me conserve
dans la foi de mes peres orthodoxes." Et quand il les congedia,
il retint sa fille Hilaria, et lui dit : " O pere saint Hilarion, nous
avons besoin de tes prieres, et je veux t'apprendre quelque chose ;
mais il ne faut pas que tu t'attristes. Ma plus jeune fille m'a appris
que lorsqu'elle se trouvait en ta benite presence, tu la baisais bouche
a bouche et couchais avec elle sur le meme tapis. Je veux que
tu m'apprennes la raison de cette pitie (que tu lui montraisj : etait-
ce par amour spiritual ou par amour charnel ? dis-moi la verite sans
honte, afin que je sois pur de toute faute." — Lors, la vierge Hilaria
reflechit, et se dit en elle-meme: "Si je choisis de cacher ce de-
guisement, je crains que le roi ne regarde les autres tnoines d'un
ceil de mepris :" et elle dit : " Que le roi vive eternellement ! Fais-
moi apporter ici les quatre saints evangiles." Et lorsqu'on les
lui eut apportes, elle dit au roi : " Jure-moi que tu ne decouvriras
pas ce secret, et que tu ne m'empecheras pas de retourner dans
mon monastfere :" Le roi jura, et Hilarion dit : " Je suis ta fille
Hilaria!" Le roi tomba dans I'^tonnement et la stupefaction:
de longtemps il ne put parler. Quand il fut revenu a lui, il s'avan^a
vers sa fille, se jeta sur son cou, comme Joseph sur le cou de
192
PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Benjamin, il versa des larmes abondantes, Quand sa mere et sa
soeur eurent appris cela, elles vinrent en toute hate, I'embrasserent,
lui baiserent les mains et le visage et voulurent I'empecher de
retourner a son monastere ; mais le roi s'y opposa en disant :
J'ai jure de ne pas la retenir :" Sa mere dit : " Nous la garderons
pour ceindre sa (tete) de la couronne du royaurae!" Et le roi
dit : " Je ne le ferai pas, mais glorifions Dieu de ce que nous I'avons
recouvree vivante !" Quant au roi, il cacha I'histoire de sa fille
et ne decouvrit pas son secret. II garda les moines trois mois
afin de voir sa fille tons les jours ; il lui demanda comment elle etait
sortie du palais. Alors elle lui raconta son histoire, comment elle
avait pris la ressemblance d'un spathaire, comment apres avoir
atteint Alexandrie elle s'etait rendue a Schiit. Et lorsque le roi eut
appris tout cela, il ecrivit un ordre de donner aux moines qui
habitaient le montagne de Schiit, comme offrande de sa fille, trois
mille ardebs de ble* et six cents mesures d'huile-: et il en a ete
ainsi chaque annee jusqu'a ce jour. Puis ils congedia les moines.
Quant a Hilaria, apres etre rentree a Schiit elle vecut encore
douze ans ; alors elle fut atteinte d'une maladie et souffrit beaucoup
de douleurs avec courage. Elle fit appeler le saint Anba Bemfoua
et le conjura en disant : "Quand j'aurai fini mes jours, toi, 6 mon
pere qui connais toute mon histoire, f ne les laisse pas oter de
-dessus moi ce cilice, mais qu'on m'ensevelisse en etant revetue."
Et lorsqu'elle fut morte avec gloire et honneur, le saint Anba Bem-
foua resta (pres d'elle) et donna ses ordres aux freres qui firent selon
ce qu'il leur avait commande. Quand on I'eut enterree, le saint
Anba Bemfoua s'assit et park aux freres de la saintete de cette
pieuse religieuse, et il dit : " Moi, le plus faible et le moins digne de
tons les moines qui vivent dans la montagne de Schiit, qui est-ce
qui a pu avoir autant de patience qu'elle ? Qui a vecu parmi des
hommes nombreux? Qui a quitte ainsi le monde et les delices
du corps, sa gloire et ses parents ? " Et lorsque les freres entendi-
rent cela, il glorifierent Dieu. Et certes, Dieu lui accorda une
* Cela fait six mille hectolitres de ble par an : c'est un joli chiffre, et les bons
moines de Scete n'avaient aucune crainte a entretenir pour leur subsistance ; mais
je crois bien que les bons moines se forgeaient un bonheur qu'ils n'avaient pas, et
qu'ils agissaient ainsi comme les doubles de leurs ancetres qui mangeaient les
pains et les viandes mentionnes sur les murs de leurs tombeaux.
+ Le texte arabe ne dit rien de cette connaissance, mais on le verra, le texle
copte en avertit.
193
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
grande faveur en la faisant mourir le meme (jour) que la Vierge
Sainte, mere de Dieu, Sainte Marie dont elle avait aime la vie : c'est
pourquoi Dieu lui accorda cette faveur. On ecrivit au roi h. son
sujet, on lui apprit sa mort, et il commenc^a par s'affliger, puis il
consola sa mere en disant : " On a loue celui qui a des enfants h
Sion et des proches h. Jerusalem, comme il est ecrit dans Isaie le
prophete : Heureux celui qui a de la semence a Sion !* Certes elle
est puissante et elle intercedera pour nous pres de notre Seigneur
Jesus le Messie pour qu'il nous pardonne nos peches ! "
Ces paroles ont ete composees et ecrites par le Saint Anba
Bemfoua, qui les a deposees dans I'eglise de Schiit, pour qu'on en
tirat consolation et profit. Que le Seigneur prenne pitie de nous
par ses prieres. Amen.
Telle est la redaction arabe de \Histoire des deux filles de Zinon
d'apres I'exemplaire du Synaxare dont je me sers : comme je I'ai
deja dit, nous n'avons malheureusement plus I'histoire entiere en
copte : mais nous en possedons des fragments qui remontent au
plus tot, je crois, au milieu du septi^me siecle. II me faut les citer
ici et en donner la traduction ; on jugera ensuite si les conclusions
que j'en tire sont justes, fausses, ou simplement forcees. Le texte
se compose de deux fragments, dont le second est la continuation par-
tielle du premier. Comme je I'ai dit plus haut, le premier de ces
fragments se compose de quatre feuillets qui font partie de la biblio-
theque du Comte of Crawford and Bakarres ;t le second n'est qu'un
feuillet de'tache et en tres mauvais etat : il appartient au musee
archeologique de Leyden, ou j'ai pu le copier au mois de Septembre
dernier, grace a la tres-aimable obligeance de M. Pleyte.
Voici ces deux fragments : —
(-pK2v- i^re col.) jULGTe <Lq^ 2^6 it^^-C rtonfpi ^ixonfaoc
nxeqpi c^-pHc nTCKKXHci^. ^.tcjo rteq^HK cy<Lpoc
ncoTi crx^-T JULJULHHite eq6^ne JULneccyme nxoq
juLit Kec{)i>,oco4)oc xe ^.n.^ JUL^-pxTpioc ^.to)
rtcy^.xe exe nneToT^.^^. ^.^^. rajulKco rt^^ooT
It^-c CT^e Tnoqpe rtxecil^i-x^^ r^^ ffl-^P^ ^^^ JUL^.p-
X'jfpioc T^-'jfo'jfooT epoc JuumnxoTenm exE.e
* C'est-k-dire : des parents.
t Je ne saurais trop remercier ici la parfaite obligeance avec laquelle Lord
Crawford a mis tous ses MSS. a ma disposition.
194
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
n^-i ^. Tcyeepe cynjuL ^-c^.^oX eTJUim-pJUL rtKHJUie.
jULitrtc^. cLjojuLTC 2^e itpojuine ecoTH^ ^jul ^JUL^.
(-26 col.-) eTJULJUL^-T ^x^. nzoeic cTcoXn n^.i nA.q
e^oX xe oTc^iJULe tg JULnqeiJUte xe Tcyeepe jul-
nppo riTepeqeiJULe 2^e xe otc^ijulg tg ^,qaj^.xe
^JU^.JUL^,c ^rt oT^cun xe jmnpTpe X<l<lt eijuie xe
HTo ovc^iJULe oT^coK ^.It eqxoojuLe enert^ioc ne
expe o-rc^iJULG otco^^ &r^ T"njuLHT~e xeK^.c nne
X^-^-T i~ oce nxeni-c{)opJULK.
juLnnc^. "4^1X6 2^e npojuLTie Tcyeepe 2^6 ojhjul
neTHA-T epoc £,rt TJULKKTe (sic) rtitcriHT ejuirt juiopx
JUL-(-verso lere col.-) JULOC eT^e 11^,1 ^.'TJULOTXe epoc
xe ^HXipion (sic) necioTp eni2.H oTrt ^^.^^ npuojuie
^JUL neicx^JU^*^ itTeiJULme eT^e rteceKi^e 2^e on
jULno-rp ee rtit^. ite^iojuLe "THpoT cyopn jutert ^lt-
cyoonre ^iTn t^.ckhcic JULnitcojc on JULnov^xno-
Kico^-i e^^^.ooc nrte^iJULe (sic) enei2^H ^. nnoTTe
OIKOnOJULCI JULJULOC nTei^G,
juLnrtc^. il^iTe 2^e npojuLue ncajoon ^n ^en rt^.cKH-
cic rte^,TOTa3 v^.p e'^Kcu nccooT (-2e col.-) juLnecjute-
ete n6^i rteceio-re ^.'¥■2.^,IJULcu^ (x/V) ^octjq e^ovrt
execKoTi rtccDite ^n Ka3cx^-m"moT^oXIc ^.txixc
ep^.^-q (^/V) nrmo6^ rt^-cKHTHc eT^it ^Hc^.m"ioit
expenfajXaX exujc ^-TCJo jULne nnoTTe x^pi^e
rt^-c JULT\T"^-X(rb eE.oX ^ixooxot. ^.vcHnE^oTXeTe
juLnppo itfTi rtrto(5^ jm.nm^>-XX^.Tiort eTxo) juljuloc
xe nppo cjort^ cy^. erte^ ectjxe cp^.n^.q JULneJ<Kp^.xoc
cyojn epoK JULirertcyoxne nvxooT nxeKajeepe eajiHT
(-pKe lere col.-) epA.T"OT Itn<LCKHT"HC CT^AJL nJUL<L
e'TJULJU^.^.'<' e^ert no 6^ ne ^rt T"noXTT"i<L ^.tcd
TitnicTenfe xe uno-yTe m^x.^,pi^e n^.c JULm-^,X6^
^iTJUL rteTcyXHX . nppo i^e nTepeqccoTJLft. A.qp^,cye
exjuL neTcyoxne enei2^K iteTn (sk) oTrto6^ nxJLK^^^
n^HT ojoon ^JUL neqHi ex^e Tojeepe cLjHJtf..
195 s
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF. BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1S88
^.qco^T-e nneTp noqpe nxeqcyeepe ^-qxnnooT
rtJULJUL^-c rtcioTp crt^.T ^.tco n^Lpeenoc crtTe
jULit £,en Ke^JLf.^^J>\ eTec^Tnepeci<L (sic) ^.qc^^.I
ep^.Ko^"e jutne- (-2e col.-) ctp^-ThXa-thc jmrt n^e-
veJULcort eTpenr^uoK rtJULJUL«Lc eajiHT. nppo 2^e
^.qc^i-i rtoTenicToXK ecymx eq^-ixei jutnex^p-
THC njUL njULeX^. expeqc^^^-i nxeq^^x JULJUim
jULJULoq xeK^c nrteifrtex oTctJ^.xe eqxooce eTenic-
toXh K^,^"^- ncTnpenei m"JULrtxepo neiA-XJULircy^.
nppo ^Tituort (sic) nertTA. nrtoTxe i~ n^.q JULnei-
^-^-eIo n^.p^. ueqjuLncy^. eqc^^.i ep^LTOT nneTonf-
^,^.^ rtojoTJULepiTOT iteTcyXHX (-verso lere col.-) extjon
^JUL uxoeic x^Jp^TS- &^ ^^ JULcn JULncij^.xe -f npoc-
Knrrtei JULneTitccoov^ e^onrn gt^^jul nexc ^.toj
ecyxe T"eT"ni.<L<LT- njULnoji. 'f^.c^^,^e jmncyoeicy
nrtonrpHTe (su-) m"e^"rtJULrtx^e^"o'«■^.^.^. 'fT^-Juio
2^e JULJULCJOTit ertem^^- nnoTTe ^.^,T n^.i ex^e
HA-rto^e exocyoT itTA-i ojeepe crtTe ejuLitx^-i Ke-
X^,^,nf ncoXcX nc^. E.XXi.T. Tcyopn Axert ^.ceI
e^oX^ixooT ^-c^cjoK K^-it ecyxe rtT^-CJULonf ^rt e^.-
X<Lcc<L K^,rt ecyxe m-^, iteoHpioit qiTc (-2e col.-)
nXnit itoe rtT^-CJULOT nitonfre nexcooTn. ^^tnocf
(sic) rt^HJS.e ^~^.^OI ^^.poc xe JULni^^e e^ecccuJUL^.
extJOJULc JULJULoc. Xomon ^. Ke^H£_e ^"^-^oI eqg^opcy
rt^jOTo encyopn TKeovei riTi-nrA-Xpoi exuuc ^^t:K^^\-
jULuon (sic) ^ocyq e^otn epoc TIt^^.pe^ epoc
juLne^oonf juirt TeTcyH. i^fCfXfL^ot\ete 2^e rt^.i
exp^-xnitooTc ep^.T"q itTeTrtJULrtneTOT^L^.^ (sic)
TenoT 2^e uxcjok rtx^-ienicxoXn ne n^.i ^n
o-cjULe xe nito-cTre n^-T"cxo t-ht-(-pkF rere col.-)
T"n eSoX ^.rt jmncT rt^.IXHJUL^..
nxepecei 2^e e^onrrt ep^-Ko-re ^. necTp.L'rnfX^.-
THC JULit n^HvejuLCJort ^cjok rtJULJUL^wC ecyiHX A-nrco
exepo-c^uDK cy^, ^^exoT^,^.£. ^.n^. n^juLiS^uo ^.-Jf•^-
iy6
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
n^-q rtTenicxoXK JULnppo ^.-foj ^.TX^-iULoq eTcyeepe
ctjHJUL exepe n2^^.iJULa3rtion (su-) ^icoaoc. ^-qccocr^^
e^oTn ititecnH*r T"Hpo*y ^.qcooj epocr rtTemcToXH
JULnppo. nTepoT^-pxei 2^e rtajXaX exojc ^. ^2^^-I-
jULtJDnion ^oajq e^ovrt epoc ^it T"JULHTe rtnecrtH'r
^.qT^.'TOToc (-2e col.-) ^^^(^bo eq^iTe juljuloc ^0002^6
(sir) ivre ^ecxpA.THX^,^-Hc jutrt n^urejuLuon p cynHpe
ejuL^-Te e^-vii. 2ie ^nrXX^-pi^. (^/r) itTepecrt^.-*-
GTeccuoite itKocJULiKH ^.ccoTcunc ^-XX^, jutne Tec-
ccuite KKocAJLiKH coTit itTccune JULJL^wm^y^K ecrt^,-
coTOJitc n^-oj n^e ^.qaji^e n(Tl ^ec^-T^w^.It ^.nfuo
^>-qT"^.Ko iicTi nc^. juLueccaujjjL^, ^. Itec^^,X cyojK^i
enecKT JULit Xa.^.t ^iujujc nci. Keec jLJirt necct}^,^.p.
rtTepecn^.t (-verso lere col.-) "KG eT"ecca3ne ^.ccLjTopxp
ejuL^.Tre ^.tcu <l rtexe,^jLnecc^. n^o-^rt kijul ezrt
T"ecca3rte ^cn^-^^Tc exJLK nsuL^^K^ rtxecccoite z.c-
piJULe cy^.n:Tre nK^^^ &^pn ^ri rtecpJULeioonre.
necitKif 2^e m"eponfrtA.T epoc ecpiJLR.e nenrxuo
jULJULoc xe eccgoon ^rt oTJULitToj^-rt ^THq e^onrit
epoc. riTepec^poK 2^e rtoTKo-ri eE^oX^^-W- ncguone
^.qjULOTT-e e'r^.cKK^-Hc (sir) m^py^^,ioc ^ex^.q n^.q
xe XI Tecyeepe cljhjul e^oTit eneK- (-2e col.-) hi
itvcyXuX exuDc cLj^.m"e nitonrxe X-^P^^^ ^^^
XfLWT^SkcTb. itToq 2^e nex^-q xe JULnemoo^ encgi
n^tw£. n-fjuLine exp^-Xi c^iAxe e^onrn en<LHi.
ne4)iXoco4>oc 2^e ^,n<L Jtx^.p^"TpIoc nexA-q n^.q
xe TA-A-c eTooTq ^^'<■X^.pIo^t necioTp rtToq
neTeonrn (foJUL juLJULoq exi c^ixJLe e^^ovrt
eneqHi. ^^t'f Tcyeepe cyHJUL exooTc itTecccxjne
^.cxiTc e^ovit enecHi ecaj^.n(Ta)ajT- e^^oTrt e^^p^ic
{sic) nxeccCJOrte Iteci}^.CCLjTOp- (-pK^ i ere col.-) [Tp
neaj^.c (n^.^Trc) exjUL \\K^^^ [^.cpiAJLje eJUL^.Te cy^.
TUDOTit e^p^.1 clJ^,c'f" ni epcoc ^^eit con aj^.cn-
KOT"J< 2^1 O-SfHOI ItOVCJOT" HJULJUL^-C JULitnc^. OJACljq
197 S 2
Fer. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1888.
2^e n^^ooT A- nrtoTe (sic-) x^P^^^ ri^c xx.l\.'J-^J\(^o
^.nfoj ^.cm~c eTJULHKxe itxeKKXHci^. nex^,c xe
^iTrt rtexrtcLjXHX ^ nitonfTe y^^^pi^e JULU^-^.X(5^
nxcLjeepe juinppo. ^ec^"p^.^"Hp^.^"Hc (sic) 2^e juLrt
ng^HvejuLuoit ^.-^fCHit^-ve (sic) ^.TKoxo'r eTpenr^coK
necrtHT 2^e ^-tc^^-I no'reni-(-2e col.-) cxoXh JULnppo
^ixooTc m"eqcgeepe. ^eIeX^-XJCToc e^^xa urro-
OT Juin^cJUL enfc^^-i juinpeqxpo ^Hrtaon. ^a. oh
n^oj^ rtiJUL T-nc^ojajT- juLneKKpA.Toc eTT^-eiHT
nrtoTxe eqe^^-pe^^ eTeKJULrtTepo nee n2k^.nfei2v
juLit coXoJULcort exn Xi.i,T nxpon o')fx^,I eKqi po-
onfcy ^j^pon ^.Tcjo ^^. TeKKXHCi^. THpc.
nxei.9,e 2^e ^,')fe^ eKcjocT"^,m-moTuoXic ^.Tno^^
(sic) np^,cye ojcone ezJUL nT^-X(To rtTcyeepe juLnppo
^.qeipe nonf-(-verso lere col.-) ^oK (sic) en6^K THpOT
juLit iteT-Q n(r^-n^.^ ^rt rtevcojJULA. A.q^.^e ep^-Tq
eq2^I^-Ko^eI epoonr e^,q'f" n^.'r rtoTKp^.cic nKortxi-
xort enoT^L ^o'^f^. ^rt T"eq6^x. JULneqp^.cTe ^.qeipe
ncrg^on ertrto(5^T"Hpo'*' JUL^^^,XX^.^-Iort (sic). nTepeq-
xrte TeqcLjeepe 2^6 eneitTZwTojcjone juuuloc nex^.c
rti,q xe ^-nrx^-^-T eTooTq rto'¥'^.cKH^"Kc xe ^tX-
XA.pion nexjuLJUL^^nr neTcyXnX exojei ^. nnoTTe
X-^pi^e n^-i JULm"^-X(rb onr- (-2e col.-) nocT'
JULriT e^o'if[n epoi] £,eit co[n aJ^,q]^.c^^L^e
jUL[juLo]ei eT~^,T"<Lup(Jo (sic) ^ert con 2^e on cyA.q-
nKoxK e-vnoi (^/V) noTCJOT" njuLJULA.1 nTeTcyn THpc.
nppo 2ve mrepeqcuDXJUL en^uojS. cyuone"" ^opcy
nn^-^pz.q nex^.q xe JULneicuoTJUL ene^ xe cy^.pe
juLOTn^-X^^c ^,cn^.^e nc^iJULe h xe cl^^.TnKo^"K ^i
oTfnoi noifuoT" njuLJUL^-T onr^^e JULe'«'^.nexe ecy^.xe
njuLJUL^-nr enxHpq n^.ctJ n^e n'fcooTn ^.n
Sic exit cod. Crawford.
* Ce passage est fautif, il faiit lire: nppO 2!^e nXepeqCUJTeJUL
cn^,I ^. n^aoS. cyaone ^opcy nn^-2> p^q.
198
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Voici maintenant le fragment de Leyden tel que je I'ai copie et
restitue : (-recto lere col.-) ^^ . . A.^ OIX
JULHOT^. ^oT^. JULneqp^.cTe 2^6 ort ^.qeipe noT-
(£,on) erieito6^ [T"Hpo]T JULnen^.X(X^-T")ion (^.-^ruo
n)eTpA.cye (juljulo)ot exJUL (wTiSk)(rb m"(cijee)pe
cyHJUL (^.Tco) riTepe np(po) xne xeqaje(ep)e ex^e
rten{T~<L'r)cya)ne jul(juloc) rt ecxuo
(juLJULoc) xe ^.t(t"<l<lt" e)TOOT"q (no'r)A.c(KKTHc)
xe (£,iX^.p)ioc Y\.e{TJULJtJL^^f) ne it(T~<LqajX)HX (excjoi
^.) nxo(eic yz^P^^)^ ^^^ (juLm"^,X6^)o Te
e^oTit (-2e col.-) epoi (2^rt) con ctj^.q ....
epoi itTCT .... ^rt con 2ie ort aJ^.q^.c^^.^e
juuuLoi rtx<Lnpo ^i ^"^.^po ^^fuo on aJ^.qrtKOTK
itJuuuLA.1 ^i o-^-n^-i {s2c) nonrtJOT" rtTenfctjH TKpc. nppo
2^e riTepeqcuoxjUL eneicy<Lxe ^. n^tJoB. cycone eq^-
opcy n^.^pA.q eJUL^.T"e nex^.q xe juliiicuoxjul ene^
xe cy^.pe otjuloha-Xoc ^-c^^.^e nc^iJULe h 2^e q-
itKOTK 2>^ o'y^^.I nonfcuT" JULit c^ijuie ^.XXa.
cyi.ica)XJUL (xe)cejuLocxe n nA.i(?)
eT^e T^. Te (-verso lere col.-)
(^.)^ex(e) ^q(cy<^")S'^^£ njuL(juL<L'<-) ha-clj
2^e (it)^e TeitoT ni~cooTrt ^.rt. ^.tcjo rtepe njuLe-
CTee eitcoxXei nA.q. nppo 2^e ^.qc^^.1 ivrxf-e^
crtxe nenicxoXH ecymT m~ei^H (siV) n^.'r^onfcxoc
npeqxpo ^Hnuon neT~c^^.i ep^-To-y itrteneioTe
iteTce^HC eTonfH^, ^it cymT. -f xpefJi^cxei nneTit-
cyXnX ^.nro? JULit (Toxx julajloi Tertov eTJULnco^^
encyi JULnexrt^"^.Io ^.-ruj eJULe^j nexnXP^cT-ei
eT" ^.n (-26 col.-) nc
e^oX^nroox T-Rnrxn i" oTtwcy oTit expeTrt cyoj . . .
Tit .... rtTA.^. oc rtxeTrt{T"rt)rtoo'r cyA.(poi
JUL)neicort (xe ^i)Xi-pion onrrt o'r(aja))rte
cya3(ne ^ax.) nn^-XX(^.Tion) ^^tuo julh
AJUULoq e p^.(rt)^.rt xe ^i. o^. . . . .
199
Fep,. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1888.
II lui donna une cellule pres de sa cellule, au sud de
I'eglise. II allait chaque jour la visiter deux fois, et avec lui aussi un
philosophe* nomme apa Martyrios. Et les paroles que le saint apa
Panibo lui disait pour le bien de son ame, apa Martyrios les enongait
en grec, parce que la jeune fiUe ne connaissait pas t la langue
egyptienne. Apr^s trois ans qu'elle habitait en ce lieu, le Seigneur
revela a Pambo que c'etait une femme, mais il ne sut pas que
(c'etait) la fille du roi. Lorsqu'il sut que c'etait une femme, il lui
parla en secret, disant : " Ne laisse savoir a personne que tu es une
femme, car ce n'est pas chose qui convienne a notre vie de faire
qu'une femme habite au milieu de nous, (et je te dis cela) afin que
personne ne souffre dommage a notre occasion." Apr^s neuf ans,
comme on voyait la jeune fille sans barbe au milieu des freres, on
I'appela Hilarion I'eunuque, car il y avait une foule d'hommes de
condition pareille. Quant a ses mamelles, elles ne furent point
comme celles de toutes les femmes ; d'abord elles se dessecherent
l)ar suite de ses asceses, et ensuite elles ne furent pas soumises aux
soufirances des femmes J car Dieu le regla ainsi.
Quand elle eut passe neuf ans en ces grandes astreses, ses parents
ayant fini par oublier son souvenir, un demon entra en sa petite soeur
a Constantinople. On la conduisit en la presence des grands
ascetes de Byzance afin qu'ils priassent pour elle ; mais Dieu ne lui
accorda pas la guerison par leur entremise. Les grands du palais
donnerent un conseil au roi et lui dirent : " O roi, vis eternelle-
ment ! S'il plait a ta puissance, regois notre conseil, envoie ta fille
a Schiit prfes des asc^es qui s'y trouvent ; ce sont de grands (moines)
dans la vie religieuse, et nous croyons que Dieu lui accordera la
guerison par leurs prieres." Le roi, lorsqu'il (les) eut entendus, se
rejouit de leur conseil ; car il y avait une grande douleur en sa
maison au sujet de la petite fille.§ II prepara ce qui etait bon
])0ur sa fille, il cnvoya avec elles deux eunuques et deux jeunes
fiUes, et d'autres serviteurs pour la servir, II ecrivit a Rakoti au
* C'est-a-dire un moine instruit. D'ordinaire le mot philosophe est pris en
mauvaise part par les auteurs copies.
+ Mot a mot : J(ai/ en dehors de, etrangcre h.
X La traduction est rigoureuse : on en pourrait conclure qu'aux yeux des
figyptiens les TruQr\ des femmes etaient en rapport avec les mamelles, ce qui
semble tout a fait conforme a leur medecine ordinaire.
§ En Egypte on etait fetit !:;arfon jusqu'a 40 ans, et petite fille au moins
jusqu'au mariage. Le tout dqjcndait de rinlerlocuteur.
200
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
stratelate et au gouverneur afin qu'ils I'accompagnassent a Schiit.
Le roi ecrivit une lettre k Schiit, demandant du papier et de
I'encre pour ecrire de sa propre main, afin qu'on n'employat pas
de grands mots, comme il sied k la royaute.* " L'indigne roi Zenon,
auquel Dieu a donne I'honneur au dela de son merite, ecrit aux
saints dignes d'etre aimes qui prient pour nous dans le Seigneur :
Salut. Avant (toute) parole, j'adore votre assemblee dans le Christ,
et, si vous m'en rendez digne, je baise la poussiere des pieds de
votre saintete. Je vous informe loutefois de ce que le Seigneur
m'a fait k cause de mes nombreux peches. J'avais deux filles, je
n'avais nulle autre consolation qu'elles. La premiere m'a quitte,
elle est partie : est-elle morte dans la mer ? Les betes sauvages
Tont-elles dechireePf Dieu (seul) sait la maniere dont elle est
morte. J'ai eu un grand deuil k son sujet,| car je n'ai point trouve
son corps pour I'enterrer. Du reste un autre deuil m'a saisi, plus
dur de beaucoup que le premier : (mon) autre fille, (celle) sur
laquelle je m'appuyais, un demon est entre en elle : nous la gardons
le jour et la nuit. On m'a conseille de I'envoyer a votre saintete.
Maintenant done la conclusion de cette lettre, en verite c'est que
Dieu ne rejettera pas vos prieres."
Lorsque la jeune fille fut arriv^e a Rakoti, le stratelate et le
gouverneur all^rent avec elle a Schiit ; et lorsqu'ils furent arrives
jusqu'au saint apa Pambo, ils lui remirent la lettre du roi, et
I'inform^rent au sujet de la jeune fille en laquelle etait le demon.
II reunit tous les firbres, leur lut la lettre du roi. Mais lorsqu'ils
eurent commence de prier sur elle, le demon entra en elle au
milieu des fr^res, la jeta a terre et demeura la tourmentant de
telle sorte que le stratelate et le gouverneur en furent grandement
etonnes. Quant k la sainte Hilarie, lorsqu'elle vit sa soeur restee
dans le monde,§ elle la reconnut : mais la soeur restee dans le
monde ne reconnut pas sa soeur devenue religieuse ; et comment
I'aurait-elle reconnue ! car sa couleur etait changee, la beaute de
son corps avait p^ri, ses yeux s'etaient enfonces, et elle n'avait
* II s'agit des protocoles ordinaires k la chancellerie byzantine, qui en effet
n'auraient pas ete k leur place dans une lettre de supplication.
+ Mot a mot : ront-elles prise,
J Mot a mot : un grand deuil m'a saisi a cause d'elle.
§ Mot a mot : sa soeur mondaine. De meme plus loin : la soeur mondaine
ne reconnut pas sa soeur moine.
201
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
sur elle que les os et la peau.* Or, lorsqu'elle vit sa soeur,
elle fut grandement troublee, ses entrailles furent emues sur sa
soeur, elle se jeta sur le cou de sa sceur, pleurant au point que
la terra fut trempee de ses larmes. Les freres, en la voyant pleurer,
disaient : "Elle a le coeur compatissant pour la jeune fille."t
Mais lorsque celle-ci fut un peu calmee de son acces + Pambo appela
un vieil ascete et lui dit : " Prends la jeune fiUe en ta cellule,
prie pour elle, jusqu'a ce que Dieu lui accorde guerison." Mais,
lui, il dit : " Je ne suis point parvenu a ce point de perfection de
pouvoir prendre une femme en ma maison."§ Mais le philosophe
apa Martyrios dit a Pambo : " Remets-la entre les mains
d'Hilarion I'eunuque, il peut prendre une femme en sa maison."
lis remirent la jeune fiUe entre les mains de sa soeur, qui la prit
en sa maison. Lorsqu'elle regardait le visage de sa soeur, elle
etait troublee, elle se precipitait a terre et pleurait beaucoup :
lorsqu'elle s'etait relevee, elle lui baisait la bouche. Parfois, elle
couchait avec elle sur le meme banc. || Apres sept jours Dieu
lui accorda la guerison (de sa soeur), elle la mena au milieu de
Teglise et dit : " Grace a vos prieres, Dieu a accorde la guerison k
la jeune fiUe du roi." Le stratelate et le gouverneur firent la
synaxe, ils s'en retournerent.^ Quant aux freres, ils ecrivirent
une lettre au roi par la main de sa fille. " Ces minimes qui sont
k la montagne des Natrons ecrivent au victorieux Zenon. Avant
toute chose, nous adorons ta puissance illustre. Que le Seigneur
garde ton royaume de tout achoppement, comme (il garda celui
* Ce passage dont la traduction est absurde en fran9ais, est tres com-
prehensible en egyptien, Le corps n'etait qu'une enveloppe d'un etre moins
grossier, le double ; on pouvait done dire que cet etre moins grossier n'avait
sur lui que les os et la peau. Peut-etre d'ailleurs n'y a-t-il la qu'une maniere
vulgaire de parler.
+ Mot a mot : elle est en pitie de coeur sur elle.
X Mot ^ mot : lorsqu'elle eut un peu cesse de sa maladie.
§ Le mot copte est TIOI, ^crit aussi Tl^I dans le fragment de Leyde.
11 s'agit bien d'un banc avec dossier, comme cela est explique dans la vie de
Pakhome. J'ai eu le plaisir de coucher moi-meme sur cette sorte de lit : c'est
dur et peu agreable.
II Mot a mot : ils se tournerent pour partir.
^ Cette phrase est amphibologique. On peut comprendre que les moines
firent ecrire Hilarie, ou qu'ils remirent la lettre i la plus jeune soeur,
202
Feb. 7] . PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
de) David et de Salomon. Sois sain et sauf, toi qui prends
soin de nous et de toute I'Eglise."*
lis arriverent ainsi a Constantinople. II y eut une grande joie
pour la guerison de la fille du roi. Le roi fit un festin a tous les
infirmes et a tous les estropies de corps, il se tint debout, les servit
et donna a chacun de sa propre main un melange de vin assaisonne
de conyze.f Le lendemain il fit un festin a tous les grands du palais.
Mais lorsqu'il interrogea sa fille sur ce que lui etait arrive, elle lui dit :
" On m'a remise entre les mains d'un ascete nomme Hilarion, c'est
lui qui a prie pour moi, et Dieu m'a accorde la guerison. C'etait un
grand (pitoyable) pour moi. Parfois il me baisait la bouche, parfois
il couchait avec moi sur le meme banc toute la nuit." Quand le
roi entendit ces paroles la chose lui fut dure, il dit ; " Je n'ai jamais
entendu dire que les moines embrassaient les femmes ou couchaient
avec elles sur un meme banc ; mais j'ai entendu dire qu'ils les hais-
saient et qu'ils ne pouvaient meme pas supporter de parler avec elles
tant soit peu. Comment cela se fait-il ? je n'en sais rien." Et ces
pensees fatiguaient le roi. Alors il ecrivit une seconde lettre a
Schiit, en ces termes : " L'Auguste victorieux, Zenon, ecrit aux peres
pieux qui habitent a Schiit. Je suis redevable a vos prieres, et
je ne peux atteindre a la hauteur J de votre merite ni payer ma dette
par votre entremise. Je desire done que vous
soyiez et que vous m'envoyiez le frere qui s'appelie
Hilarion II y a une maladie dans le palais et
Tels sont les deux fragments copies qui nous ont conserve une
partie de Vhisfoire des deux filles de Zenon. Comme on a pu le voir
aisement la ressemblance est tellement frappante qu'on peut sans
danger conclure a I'identite de la version arabe et de la version
thebaine : toutes les deux nous donnent bien la meme histoire.
Cependant on rencontre dans les deux versions de legeres dissem-
blances qui sont toutefois assez fortes pour permettre de conclure
que ces deux versions ont ete faites et abre'gees d'un re'cit primitif
connu des deux traducteurs. On peut sans crainte avancer que la
traduction arabe n'a pas e'te faite sur le document thebain, puis
qu'on rencontre certains traits qui ne se trouvent pas dans la version
* j\Iot a mot : toi prenant soin de nous et de I'Eglise entiere.
t Le texte porte le mot KOItTlTOft qui tout I'allure d'un mot grec. Le
mot Kp^CIC qui precede montre bien qu'il s'agit de vin,
\ Mot a mot ; parvenir a la mesure de votre honneur,
203
Fkb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [i8S8
th^baine, et, ce qui est plus grave, que certaines phrases ont ete
placees en una bouche differente.* Tautefois cette derniere diffe-
rence pourrait avoir uniquement pour origine le peu de scru pules du
traducteur. Tout bien considere, je crois que le recit a ete compose
primitivement par un moine de Scete pour la plus grande edification
des religieux ses freres. Dans les documents thebains d'origine
indeniable, on ne trouve aucune histoire sur les moines de Scete :
en chaque dialecte, on ecrivait ses propres histoires, et quand un
scribe instruit dans les deux dialectes trouvait que quelque production
de I'une des moities de I'Egypte pouvait edifier les moines de I'autre
moitie et avoir du succes, il la traduisait du memphitique en thebain,
s'il vivait en Thebaide ; du thebain en memphitique, s'il demeurait
k Scete ou dans les environs. On se faisait ainsi de pieux emprunts
qui entretenaient I'amitie et I'edification, et Ton pouvait sans scrupule
arranger I'ceuvre premiere qui n'aurait pas cadre assez bien avec le
goClt de ceux a qui 6tait destinee la traduction. Cette manibre de
faire explique tres bien les divergences que Ton trouve dans les deux
versions.
Cette histoire montrera aussi que les moines de Sc^te, tout aussi
bien que leurs freres de la Haute 6gypte, avaient conserve le goClt
des compositions litteraires, et qu'ils etaient bien les dignes suc-
cesseurs des scribes de I'empire Pharaonique dont I'imagination a
reve le conte des detix freres, celui du prince predestine, et celui de
Satni, pour ne parler que des plus eelebres. Comme il est facile
de le voir, les scribes Chretiens ne reculaient pas devant les idees
lestes, les positions scabreuses et les peintures libres. On rencontre
dans la litterature dont je parle des recits naturalistes qui ddfient
toute oeuvre raoderne. L'histoire des deux filles de Zhwn est une
oeuvre chaste en comparaison des autres, malgre que le bon em-
pereur en soit scandalise ; mais Ton en trouve d'autres qui ne sont
rien moins que chastes, et toutes sont I'oeuvre de moines ecrivant sur
des moines. Pour citer quelques exemples, les histoires ou des
jeunes filles s'habillent en hommes pour se faire moines sont fort
nombreuses ; dans I'une d'elles, une jeune fille, moine \ Scete, est
envoyee dans un village de la Basse 6gypte pour vendre les nattes
* La chose est surtout ^vidente pour les reflexions que suggere la maniere dont
Ililarion s'y etait pris pour guerir la fille du roi. La version arabe les met dans la
bouche de la jeune fille ; la version th^baine dans celle de Zenon. A mon avis
elles se trouvent ici mieux placees que Ik : mais je ne peux guere savoir quelle est
la bonne place.
204
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1SS8.
et acheter les provisions de son monast^re. Dans I'hotellerie ou
elle passe la nuit un soldat met a mal la fille du scheikh el beled : on
accuse natiirellement le moine, qui est battu et chasse avec ignominie.
De retour a son monastere, ce moine d'un nouveau sexe passe sa
vie a pleurer un peche qu'il n'a pas commis et meurt. Pour
I'ensevelir, on le decouvre et Ton se trouve en pre'sence d'une femme :
tous les peres accourent alors pour constater de visu que le moine
accuse etait une femme et n'avait pas pu mettre a mal la fille du
scheikh el beled, et la conclusion c'-est que tout le monde glorifie Dieu
de tant de vertu. Dans une autre, un vieux moine entreprend de
convertir une courtisane ; il se rend pres d'elle, la trouve sur sa
porte, entre avec elle et la suit jusque dans sa chambre. La, il
s'assied sur le lit et attend que la belle fille se soit paree de ses
bijoux et de sa plus belle robe : elle revient, le caresse et au moment
ou Ton attend la chute du vieillard, la grace triomphe et la courti-
sane se convertit. Dans une autre, une courtisane entreprend de
seduire un vieillard ; elle se rend a la caverne de I'ascete, comme
une malheureuse femme sans resources. Le vieillard la re9oit ;
pendant qu'il est sorti pour quelque besoin, elle change d'habits,
se couvre de pierreries et oublie sa robe : sa seule beaute lui servait
amplement d'habit, pensait elle. A son retour, le vieillard est
frappe d'eblouissement k la vue d'un tel spectacle, elle le caresse,
le presse, lui arrache son consentement. Le vieillard demande un
moment de repit pour se preparer, et sort de la caverne ; il reste
trop longtemps absent au gre de la courtisane, qui lui crie de venir
vita ; le moine repond : Viens plutot toi ; et la courtisane regardant
par la porte voit le vieillard tranquillement occupe a tenir son pied
dans le feu pour s'habituer \ bruler dans I'enfer. Elle se convertit
sans hesiter. Les courtisanes jouent un grand role dans cette
litterature : les Thais, le Marie egyptienne sont des heroines qui
n'ont eu d'autre vie que celle que I'imagination des moines egyptiens
leur a donnee : elle sont maintenant sur les autels. L'une de leurs
soeurs qui a echappe a la canonisation alia d'Alexandrie a Jerusalem
pour se convertir : elle aurait pu aussi bien se convertir a Alexandrie,
mais ce n'efit pas ete I'affaire de I'auteur qui n'aurait eu alors plus
rien \ conter. Comme elle n'avait pas d'argent pour payer son
passage, elle paya en nature sur le pont \ tout I'equipage ; elle devint
une grande sainte apres sa conversion.
Je ne citerai pas d'exemple des crimes contre nature que Ton
trouve dans ces recits : les fr^res qui violent leurs soeurs ; un enfant
205
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1888.
ne d'inceste qui devient le mari de sa mere, des moines tuant les
fiUes qu'ils ont violees, des actes de sodomie, de brigandage, tous
ressorts ordinaires des conteurs chretiens de I'Egypte. Quelquefois
ils s'elevent jusqu a I'epopee, lis ont des cycles : ils decrivent des
batailles, des guerres toutes plus invraisemblables les unes que les
autres. II n'y a pas un genre qu'ils n'aient aborde. Le succ^s les
a recompenses. Un grand nombre de leurs personnages sont
devenus dans la suite tellement populaires qu'on leur a prete une
realite historique dont il n'ont jamais joui. Si la valeur intrinsbque
et litteraire d'une ceuvre dependait du succes qu'elle obtient, la
litterature copte populaire eut ete Tune des premieres litteratures du
monde, sinon la premiere. Malheureusement elle manque un peu
trop de facture et d'art. Non pas qu'il n'y ait aucun art dans ces
sortes d'oeuvre, mais cet art n'est pas tel qu'on puisse Fadmirer :
il est, comme la civilisation egyptienne, par trop naif et trop
immobile ; malgre leur apparente diversite, les recits ne sont pas
assez varies, les moyens employes sont trop semblables et la
rhetorique en usage n'a pas assez de moyens de remplissage et de
lieux communs. Malgre ces defauts, cette litterature encore
completement inconnue, est d'une richesse merveilleuse pour la
connaissance des idees qui avaient cours parmi ces moines de
I'Egypte chretienne : ils nous apparaissent ainsi sous un jour tout-a-
fait nouveau, et ces ceuvres fabuleuses, de pure imagination,
deviennent I'une des sources les plus importantes de I'histoire
religieuse et morale. Evidemment Ton s'en doit servir avec
precaution et avec tact : mais I'historien doit s'en servir sous peine
de ne pas connaitre son sujet tout entier. Sous ce rapport, la
publication de Vhisioire des deux filles de Zcnon ne saurait manquer
d'etre utile, si elle attire I'attention sur tout un cot^ inconnu du
genie ^gyptien, et par consequent du genie humain.
206
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
UGRO-ALTAIC NUMERx\LS : ONE— FIVE.
By Robert Brown, Junr., F.S.A.
I.
The investigations of Lenormant, Hommel, and others have made
it evident that the Akkado-Sumerian dialects belong to the Ugro-
Altaic family of speech, in which I would also venture to include
Etruscan ; and this circumstance is remarkably illustrated by a com-
parison of the numeral-forms. The number of distinct words which
man has to express any object or idea equals the number of distinct
concepts he possesses regarding it ; and there seem to have been in
Akkadian two different ways of regarding the number 07ie. The first,
and that which appears to have been generally employed, probably
connected it with the mouth or face ; the second, with the finger or
hand. Prof Sayce and Mr. T. G. Pinches have kindly supplied nie
with most of the Akkadian numeral-forms mentioned ; and the
Arintzi and Kamacintzi words are from Strahlenberg's Siberia, Eng.
edit., 1738, a valuable compilation which shows, amongst other things,
what an immense number of forms have perished, many of which
would at once have supplied the missing links across gaps which we
are now unable to bridge.
Ugro-Altaic ONE-words. First Group. Basis-concept : — The
Mouth or Face (as representing a, i.e. one, man) : —
Akkadian. — g-u-i-s (earlier form)
g is
d i-s (dialectic)
Z /
■e
d a-s
a-s
71- s
a (most abraded form)
Assyrian. — ^-5- (-tin). " Number One.""]
XT u 7 / .. , N Moan-words.
Hebrew. — ash (-te asar,= i -f io=ii)J
207
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILLOLOGY,
Yenissei-Ostiak.
-x-?i-
— s
x-u-
s-a
k-u-
s-a-m
^-u-
s-e-m
k-u-i-s-a
Arintzi. —
Kamacintzi — y^-u-od~sy^-ae
Kamtchatkan. — x-i (-neppu)
Cf. Ak. gu^ 'mouth,' 'face,' etc. (Sayce, As. Grain., Syllabary,
Nos. 39, 500); Yen.-Ost. xu, xu'o ; kie, ku'o, 'mouth.'
Second Group. Basis-concept : — the Finger or Hand.
Tungusic. — 0 -in-Di-u- k -0-71
u-in-in-u- k -o-n
u-ni ?<;- k -o-n
0 - in 71- k -0-71
a-ni u- k -0-71
0 -ni- 0- k -0-71
a -in k -a
u-ni u-71
U - 711 0-71
ni u-k-o-7i
a- in -u
Mordvin. —
v —
V-
ai- k-e
ci- k -e
27-
e
Etruscan. —
711-
a X
iMokscha. —
i-fk-a
fk-a
Vogul. —
a-kv-a
Ostiak-Samoied. —
o-k -e-r
o-k -u-r
o-kk-a-r
Zyrianian. —
o-t-i-k
Wotiak.—
a-tt - i-k
Magyar. —
e -ck - i
e-g-y
20S
Fee. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888
PROCEEDINGS.
Lapponic. —
a-kt
a-kt-a
Finnic. —
y-ks-i
Esthonian. —
21 -ks
Tcheremiss. —
i-k
Ostiak. —
i-t
Akkadian. —
i-kd
i-d
Assyrian. —
e-d-u
Hebrew. —
i-kh-itu
e-kh-od
a-kh-at
> (loan-words ? )
Kamassin. —
o-b
O-J/l
Turak-Samoied.—
o-b
o-p ~oi
Tangy.—
0 ai
Yenissei. —
6 (most abraded form
Mantchu. —
Ji^-ga)
Chinese. —
rih
Cf. the common Tatar word bar-ma-^, 'finger,' from the first
syllable of which come the Yakut and Turkic bir, Koibal ber,
and Karagass bird, 'one'; the Tungusic imakan, and the Magyar
/(^', ' finger'; the Akkadian /^, 'hand'; the Kalmuck /^-am, 'ring-
finger,' etc., etc. It is only such tabular comparison which enables
us to detect the variant and abraded forms.
II.
Two-words. Basis-concept : — The two Hands.
Finnic. — k-a-k-s-i
k-a-x (Strahlenberg)
Esthonian. — k-a-k-s
Akkadian. — k-a s
Zyrianian. — k-y-k
Vogul. — k~i-t
209
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1888.
Ostiak. — k-a-t
Magyar. — k-e-t-t - 0
Mordvin. — k-a-v-t - 0
Lapponic. — kv-e-k~t - e
Yakute. — i-k -k-i
Turkic. — i-k i
Arintzi. — k-i (-nae)
Etruscan. — c-i
c-i s = ' second.'
c-i — - — z-i^= ' twice.'
Tlie hand-words in the various dialects exactly correspond, e.g.,
Akkadian kat (whence the Assyrian katu ; cf. Heb. ^/w//;-nayim,
" both hands full," Ezekiel, x, 2), Finnic kiite, Zyrianian ki, etc.
(Vide inf. Sec. V.)
III.
THREE-words. First Akkadian concept : — Plurality.
Akkadian. — u-v-u-s Cf. Yakute. — y-s
u-m~u-s Turkic. — ii-c
v-i-s
b-i-s
i-s
Cf. Ak. vies, mis, 'many,' sign of plural. So, similarly, "the
Puris of South America call 'three' prica or 'many.'" (Sayce,
rrinciph'S of Coiiif. PkiloL, 274.)
Second Akkadian, and general Ugro-Altaic, concept : — (Hand
+ hand) + Foot.
Akkadian. — e-s-s-e'\ ^^ .. ^ ,.
) Cf. Ak. essa, foot,
e-s-s-a J
Etruscan. — e-s a- 1
e-s a~l-s = 'third.'
e-s i-z = 'thrice.'
z a-/
z / {e.g., naper zL, "grave-niches 3,"
Cippus Perusinus).
-;;/
Feb. 7] TROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Nogai Tatar. — o-l
Finnic. — k o-l-me
Mokscha. — k o-l-ma
Mordvin. — k o-l-vio
Esthonian. 1 , ,
> — k — -O-l-i
Lapponic. J
Vogul. — k o-r-om
Magyar. — h — —a-r-om
Basque. — // i-r-ii
Zyrianian. — k u-j-im
Tcheremiss. — k — -21 m
Surgut. — ■ k — ~u-d~em
Ostiak. — X u-d-em
Yukagir. — / a-l-on
Tungusic. — g i-l-an
i—l—an
e—l-a?i
The foot-words correspond, e.g., Yenissei-Ostiak bul, pul, Buriat
kol, Ostiak kur, Mongol kul, etc., 'foot.' The letter-changes are
in accordance with the laws of Turanian languages. L final, at
times, disappears in Akkadian, e.g., mal-ma, pil pi, bil-bi, etc.
Possibly an original final / in essa-l reappears in the Assyrian
j-rt/-satu, 'three.' The l-r change is familiar, e.g., the Susianian
LasramaZ-Lagamar.
IV.
FouR-words. A common Ugro-Altaic concept : (Hand + hand
-f eye) +Eye.
Mr. Pinches gives limmu as an Akkadian word for ' four ' ; cf.
Urn, Hv, li, As. enu, 'eye,' But the more usual form is : —
Akkadian. — s — -a
s a-n-a
s a-b—a
s a-?i
s — -a-v
s / -V
s / -m-u
211 T
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL^OLOGY. [1888.
Etruscan. — s a
s a-s= "fourth."
Yenissei. — s a (-gem)
^ ^ (-ga)
s / (-em)
s / (-a)
tsch-a (-ja)
Kamacintzi. — sch-a (-gae)
Arintzi. — sch-e (-ya)
Mantchu. — ss -i (-ggae)
Chinese. — sz -e
s -i
Siamese. — s -i
Perhaps, as Canon Isaac Taylor has suggested, this form also appears
in the Turkic se-kis, " 8," i.e. 4x2. The eye-words are quite in
harmony, e.g., Akkadian si, Ostiak se-m, Zyrianian si-7i, Samoied
sai, Tcheremiss si-n-za, Finnic si-l-ma, Lapponic sa-lb-me, Magyar
sze-m, etc.
But there are various ways of thinking out the number 4, and I
believe that another has been to regard it as (Hand + hand + foot) +
Foot, thus : —
Akkadian. — n -i-n
n -i-fi-g-a
Lapponic. — n -e-l-j-e
Finnic. — n -e-l -j -a
Magyar. — n -e-l-l-i (Strahlenberg)
n -e g-y
Mordvin. — n -i-l-e-n
Vogul. — n -i-l-a
Tcheremiss. — n -i-l
Zyrianian. — nj-o-l
Ostiak. — 7ij-e-l
For examples of «-/ change, vide Schott, tjber das AltaVsche
flder Finnisch-Tatarische Sprachengeschlecht, \\<^, e.g., "Mongol, em-
N-ekii fiir etn-L-ekii." That the foregoing FOUR-words were originally
212
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
connected with foot-words will, I think, appear from the following
list of the latter ; —
Akkadian. — n- e -r
71- i -r
Tcheremiss. — -j - a -I
j - 0 -I
Finnic. — j -a -1-k-a
Lapponic. — j -uo~l-k-e
Esthonian. — j - a -l-g
Magyar. — gj- a -I (-og) = 'foot-passenger.'
The r-l change has been noticed. So, in the Hsts of Euphratean
kings, Pu-u-lu, Pulu, Pul, Phulos, appears in the Ptolemaic canon
as n(2'/)os\ Cf. the A\i. J>2ir, pul, "to explain." The FOUR-words are
natural variants from the prior idea. A comparison of the Zyrianian
and Ostiak ' four ' with the Tcheremiss ' foot,' brings the point out
very clearly.
V.
FivE-words. Basis concept : — the Hand, as having five fingers.
The Hand having already furnished Two-words, and being
naturally again called upon to assist in expressing numerals, man, as
a matter of course, differentiates in the form, and produces a variant
of the kat-\ioxds, thus : —
Ha7id. Five.
Akkadian. — k-a-t v-a-s (abraded form ia, a)
v-a-r
b-a-r
p—a-r—a
v-ii-s-i
v-ii-s
v-i-t
v-i-s
v-a-t-e
v-i-t
a-t
213 T 2
Finnic. —
k-d-t-e
Esthonian. —
■ k-a-s-i
Lapponic. —
k-d-t
Tcheremiss.-
-k-e-t
Mordvin. —
k-a-d
Zyrianian. —
k-i
Vogul. —
k-a-t
FiH. 7]
SOCIETV OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV.
[iSSS.
Ostiak.—
k-e-t v-e-t
Magyar.—
k-e-z o-t
Yakute. — b-ia- s
Karagass. — b-ei-s
Osmanli. — b-e -s
A second set of Five-words is connected with another set of
Hand-words as follows : —
Five.
Hand.
Akkadian. —
s-a
Akkadian. —
Yenissei-Ostiak.-
—x-d
^-^(-ga)
k-a{-ng)
Kottic. —
k-e{-g^)
Kottic. —
Arintzi. —
4-g^)
Tungusic. —
/-^(-nga)
Yenissei. —
Buriat. —
/-(7(-ban)
Samoied. — ■
t-u
t-u-n
Kamtchatkar
Etruscan. —
6-u
k-e{-gi.x)
t- o-n
V — «' Ave times "
^-it-n-z J
S-t is a familiar Turanian letter-change, e.g.^ siipi-tiip, seiwiis-
friicas, etc. In the form ka/ig it will be remembered that ng is one
letter ; hence the division given. A third Akkadian hand-word it/,
Samoid ud, 2it, uda, ude, uttc, uto, ura, jutu, Asiatic Turk. z7, Osmanli
r/, appears to be connected with One-words, as noticed above.
Barton-onHumber, xith January, 1888.
2 14
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
INSCRIPTIONS OF NEBUCHADREZZAR II.
II. The Phillipps' Cylinder.
{See Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. /, PL 65, 66.)
By Rev. C. J. Ball.
The chief interest of this inscription is that it confirms the im-
pHcations of Herodotus (i, 183) and Diodorus (ii, 9) respecting the
ledisternia or sacred banquets of Bel-Merodach, the tutelar god of
Babylon ; a reminiscence of which may also be seen in the Apocryphal
story oi Bel, v. 3, (See col. i, 16 sqq. ; col. ii, 27 sqq. ; col. iii, 7 sqq.)
I know of no translation of this piece, except that which Menant
published so many years ago, that it would be highly ungenerous to
criticise it now. Readers will find it convenient to refer to the notes
in my former paper {Proceedings, December, 1887) for many terms
which recur in this inscription.
Col. I.
Transcription.
D. na-bi-um-ku-du-ur-ri-u-^u-ur sar mi-sa-ri-i"
ri-e-a-u"" ki-i-nu" mu-ut-ta-ru-u te-ne-se-ti
mu-us-te-si-ir ba-'u-la-a-ti D. en-lil D. samas u D. marduk
mu-us-ta-la™ a-hi-iz ne-rai-ki mu-us-te-'u-u™ ba-la-ta"'
5 na-a-da" la mu-up-pa-ar-ku-u
za-ni-in e-sag-illa u e-zi-da
abil na-bi-u'"-abla-u-9U-ur sar ba-bi-la" ki a-na-ku
i-nu-u" D. marduk belu ra-bi-u a-na be-lu-ut ^L\-DA
is-sa-an-ni-ma
10 ni-si™ ra-ap-sa-a-ti a-na ri-e-u-ti i-ti-na"
a-na D. marduk i-lu ba-ni-ia pa-al-hi-is lu u-ta-aq-qu
a-na sa-a-ta"" si-ir-ti-e-su lu u-ka-an-is ki-sa-da"
sa-at-tu-ku-su du-us-su-u-ti™
ni-da-ba-a-su e-el-lu-u-ti™
15 e-li sa pa-ni"* u-sa-te-ir
sa u-uni est-en gu-il-e ma-ra-a gu-su-ul
hi-za zu-lu-hi-e da-am-gu-ti™
ga-du-u" sa ilani e-sag-illa u ilani ba-bi-la™ ki
nu u na"" i^-cu-ru u-su-um-mu pi-la-a si-ma-at ap-pa-ri-i"'
215
Ficn. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [iSSS.
20 di-i§-pa-a™ hi-me-ti'" si-iz-bi du-mu-uq sa-am-ni'"
ku-ru-un-ni'" • da-as-pa-a'" si-ka-ar sa-tu-u"
ka-ra-na" e-el-lu ka-ra-na"' melt i-za-al-la""
mat tu-'i-im-mu. mat ^i-im-mi-ni mat hi-il-bu-ni"^
viCit a-ra-na-ba-ni'" 7nat su-u-ha-a'"
25 7nat bit-ku-ba-ti" u mat bi-ta-a-ti'"
ki-ma me-e na-a-ri la ni-bi-i'"
i-na Gis BARA (?) D. marduk u D. zar-pa-ni-tu'"
EN-MEs-e-a lu u-da-as-sa-a""
pa-pa-ha §u-ba-at be-lu-ti-su
30 huraga na-am-ra-a'" sa-al-la-ri-is lu as-ta-ak-ka-an
bab hi-li-su hura^a u-sa-al-bi-is-ma
bita a-na D. zar-pa-ni-tu'" be-il-ti-ia
ku-uz-ba-a™ u-za-'i-in
E-zi-DA su-ba-at D. lugal lugal-dim-me-ir-ana-ki-a
35 pa-pa-ha D. na-bi-u'" sa ki-ri-ib e-sag-illa
si-ib-bu-su si-ga-ru-su u ipi ka-na-ku-su
hura(,m u-sa-al-bi-is-ma
bita ki-ma u-um lu u-na-am-mi-er
e-temen-ana-ki zi-ku-ra-at ba-bi-la'" ki
40 i-na hi-da-a-ti u ri-sa-a-ti e-pu-us
ba-bi-la'" /'/ ma-ha-az beli ra-bi-u D. marduk
im-gu-ur-belu du-ur-su ra-bi-a-a'"
u-sa-ak-li-il
i-na zag-gab ka-gal ka-gal ama ama urudu
45 e-iq-du-ti'" ^ir-rus-rus se-zu-zu-u-ti us-zi-iz
hi-ri-su ah-ri-e-ma su-bu-ul me-e ak-su-ud
ki-bi-ir-su in esir-e-a u sib-al-ur-ra
lu ab-ni™
za-ra-li ki-ib-ri sa bada da-lum
50 sa ki-ma sa-tu-u"' la ut-ta-as-su
in EsiR-E-A u SIB-AL-UR-RA u-se-bi-i§
Translation.
Nebuchadrezzar^ king of righteotisness,
T/ie faithful shepherd, the guide of mankind,
The ruler of the subjects of Bel, Shamash, and Alerodach,
The mild, the possessor ofiaisdom, that seeketh after life,
5 The exalted, the utnvearied.
The sustainer of Esagilla and Ezida,
216
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The son of JVabopalassar, king of Babylon, am /.
WheJi Merodach, the great lord, to the lordship of the land
Raised ?}te, and
10 Broad peoples for shepherding gave ;
To Mcrodach, the god my maker, I was reverently obedient.
To obey his laws I bowed the neck.
His rich oblations.
His sple7idid free-will offerings,
15 Above the former amount I increased.
Of one day, a bullock fine, a fatlitig, a bullock without blemish.
The delight ofpjire dishes,
The portion of the gods of Esagilla and the gods of Babylon,
Fish, fowl, flesh {?), vegetables, tokens of abundance,
20 Honey, curd, milk, the best of oil,
Noble tvine, mead, mountaiji beer.
Choice wine, wine of Izalla,
Of THimmu, of Citnminu, of Helbon,
Of Ara?iabanu, of Suha,
2 5 Of Bitkubati and Bitatu,
Like the waters of a river, numberless.
In the chapel of Merodach and Zarpanit,
My lords, I made to abound.
As for the chamber, the abode of his lordship,
30 Of shining gold the walls thereof did I make ;
The gate Hilisu with gold I overlaid, and
The ho2ise for Zarpanit, my lady,
With splendour I aborned.
Ezida, the abode of the god Lugal, the king of the gods of heaven
and earth,
35 The chamber of Neb 0, which is 7vithin Esagilla,
Its lintel, its bolt, and its lock (?)
With gold I overlaid, and
The house like day I made to shine.
Eteinenanaki, the tower of Babylon,
40 With rejoicings and revels I made.
As for Babylofi, the town of the great lord Merodach,
Imgurbcl, the great wall of it,
I finished.
At the side of the gates bulls of bronze,
45 Massy, and huge serpents erect I set up.
217
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1SS8.
The moot thereof I di/g, and the bottom of the water I reached ;
The tmtik of it in gypsum and kiln-brick
I built.
The pavilion (?) of the bank of the great tcall,
50 Which like a mountain had not been lifted up,
With gypsum and kiln-brick I caused to be made.
Notes to Column I.
1. ntiSari^: cf. Ileb. D''"lC^''D, "justice": Ps. ix, 9.
2. kimi^: cf. Syr. jj^D, "just," "right." reii'^ : 5 R. 13, 55 Rev. SI-BA =
ri-'-u ; 5 R. 12, No. 4, 35, sib = ri-e-a-u™. inuttarfc = vnitlarrti: ptcp. I,
2 (Ifteal) of a;-??, Xo-|> (= Heb. mS Ps. xxv, 8). Cf. Lotz, Tigl. II, 96.
3. SaniaS : 5 R. 37, col. I, 39.
4. t)iu&tcfl : ptcp. I, 2 of Se''jl = ^yk^' Heb.
5. mupparkil : ptcp. IV, I oi parAkti : Nif. = "to cease," "leave off." Cf.
La niha: Stand. Inscr. I, 11 ; Tigl. V, 41 ; VIII, 19.
6. z&nin : "feeder," "food-supplier": a term illustrated by 16 j^^. below.
The Heb. (Jer. v, 8, Ketib) and Chald. |1T is cognate.
8. tmC^ : cf. enftma: Stand. Inscr. I, 26 ; and istti, ibid., I, 23.
10. itind^ = iddinci^, aor. I, i of naddfiii, "to give." With ti=di, cf.
fu = dtt, \me 21 ; 1\, 2^ tu = tu. Such peculiarities of spelling may represent
the dialect of individual scribes ; but, on the other hand, they may be nothing
more than variations of writing, and indicate no difference of pronunciation.
11. ntaqcjTi : aor. II, I oi taqti = Hj.
12. Sdhi : infin. I, i of Hollow Verb. Cf. Ethiop. rtfJl® ^ exaudivit,
obedivit ; (2) suscepit, gratum habuit ; (3) St. John ix, see ii, 15, itifra.
sirtu = \s ~Li, conditio, lex.
ukdnis = itkafinis aor. II, I of kandSu, "to submit," Tigl. Ill, 74. Cf.
7tkiniS, "I reduced," Tigl. I, 54 {=ukanniS, with vowel-assimilation).
13. sattiikti : R. ja«^^?/, syn. of i^arrfi^?/ (satnuqu, with regressive assimilation).
Or is the root pfltJ' (or "?I1K'), quievit ? Sedationes = placationes = sacrificia.
duSi/i: "rich," "fat," "abundant": cf udaxxa'^ 1. 28. R. NCH : (/• also |t;n-
14. nidabii : plur. in -u, Heb. Dl^'l^.
15. Cf. Tigl. VI, 34, sq. bilta u madatia cli sa pana uttir ina muhhisu, "toll
and tribute, above what was before, I added upon him."
16. IL-E, i.e., apparently elli. Cf. ii, 27 ; iii, 9. Gu = alpu, S"" 96.
inarA : cf N^"}P, 2 Sam. vi, 13 ; I Kings, i, 9. Or perhaps nidrtt, "young."
Su-UL: a Sumerian expression: cf. 4 R. 25, col. 3, 37. u-sAR EL -LA
Su-UL-A-ME-EN = azkaru ellu ustaklilu, "(when) the glorious hero was per-
fected": 4 R. 9 15,16. Obv. (Hymn to Sin) sU-UL = Suk-lu-lu"", "completed,"
a verbal adj. like iurhll, Sitquru Suntulu.
218
Feb. 7]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
17. See iii, 11 for the division of the words hfzti. Eth. ^0^'H : vokipias,
iciae. Or Arab. .1.^ colletrit,
possedit. Or perhaps /?/f7< ; cf. Ar.
deliciae. Or Arab. .\^^ collegit, e.g. opes; infin. ^-•Lj^.s^ ; also conquisivit,
u=-
' to appropriate a thing to some one. "
'An assignment or appropriation (to the god) of pure dishes ; " or, lastly, I'lfl =
nVn, "to divide," "part," " apportion."
zumi: JT-nS*, nin'pV, 1**-»^1, Eth. 8rh^: "platter."
18. gddu"^: \ss>-, "to give"; o.Jkj=", "gift." Cf. also ^\\::^ and Jc?- •
19. nSniiiimc: For the division of characters, see ii, 29; iii, 13. I have
assumed the root to be Dtyfli, the Ar. j^j!L»~ , " to be or become fat," whence
s >> 9 r
the noun j^yL.:>- » which in form corresponds exactly to uSiimimt. The roots
tfjMS. 5 tfLi^s:- , are both said to mean " to be dried," and the mention of dried fruits
such as dates, figs, raisins, would be suitable. But cf. also T'ODX, Deut. xxviii, 8 ;
N^JpX ; (iXDI; which suggest the sense "grain."
equivalent to Syr. (tA iSfia »t, "dinner."
J>f/d: written bi-e-la-a, iii, 13. See 2 R. 26,
The term might also Ije
SI
pi-lu-u ^ pi-lu-tu
ZI ^ pi-lu-u
•^Y-<^ ■<^ pi-lu-u
(si-ig) gL
a-ra- ^ ar-qu
U si-ig HU
ra-aq-ra-qu
A-RA-AK-A
n
u-rik
ur-ki-tu™
Sar
ar-qu
s^c/. Re\
m'd., Nc
■ 3. 41 s^.
si-iz
pi-lu-u
-^}A
IT
Ar^u recalls pyjl ]i, "a garden of herbs," i Kings xxi, 2, and Syr. loLn
"greens"; and raqraqu is like p^i?^l.'', "greenish-yellow," or "golden-green,
(Lev. xiii, 49 ; Ps. Ixviii, 14) ; cf. our "greenfinch."
apparu : cf. y^ , copia, abundantia ; i,l , amplus, magnus. Apparn =
*awparu, a noun like azkaru, asmaru, etc.
o
20. dispu = iy21^ jj*fcj(j; daSpu, in the next line, is evidently a drink
prepared from honey, like mead and metheglin, both of which are still made by
cottagers in the West of England.
Jiimetu = nxpn, Judg. v, 25.
dumuq. : constr. of dumqu, das Beste, Tigl. II, 32.
21. Sikar: constr. oUikaru, "ISK/^^Lj. k"rim7ii'° : 5 R. 19, 2, 28 : ^^"^
ku-ru-un <T< = sa-bu-u ; i.e.., sabu, Heb. X3b, Isa. i, 22.
219
Feb. 7] SOCIETY- OF BIBLICAL ARCIi.EOLOGY. [1S88.
satii™ : a difficult form, but probably only a mode of writing .^adti, "moun-
tain "; see line 50 below. Nebuchadrezzar writes everywhere hursaniS in lead of
liurSaniS, adv. from JjiirScini, "woods," or "wooded hills"; and markaS, III, 28,
is markasa in Stand. Inscr. VII, 37. Cf. ttSashir, II, 6, for nSashir, Stand. V,
37. Col. Ill, 21, bisit satii^ =biSiti Sadi^ of Stand. Inscr. II, 34.
23. Helbon: Ezek. xxvii, 18; Delitzsch, Parodies, p. 281.
26. la nihi^ : cf. la niba, and la mani. Nibtl is the passive participle I, i
oinabil, "to call," "tell."
GI9-BARA : parakku.
28. EN-MEs-e-a-^bele'a.
udassa^ : aor. II, i oi daSu : see note on I, 13 above, Sarg. Cyl. 68 ; Belit
mitdiSSat hisbi.
30. aStakkan : pres. I, 2 of Sakami. For Salhh'u, " wall," see 5 R. 42, 25,
g. h. IM-BE I si-i-ru.
iM-zi 1 sal-la-ru.
siru is Heb. l-lt^, Arab. -^ , "wall."
31. Mlisu: see Stand. Inscr. II, 51, where this Sumerian term is apparently
explained by kuzbu (Read " KA HILISU bdb kuzbu, Kahilisu, ' the Gate of Splen-
dour.' ") Kuzbu (line 33 below) seems to mean both "strength," and "beauty ":
4 R. 9, 19/21. Obv. HiLi-LALA-MALLATA == kuzbu u lala malu, "full of power
and abundance." In 2 R. 35, 64 sqq. g.h. HiLi = kuzba, membrum virile.
34. LUGAL, i.e., San-ii, "king." Cf. 5 R. 46, 30a.
39. zikurat : also written zig-gur-rat ; from zaqarii, "IpT, " to erect," " rear."
Cf. zaqrii, "high."
41. rabfu : cf. rabVa™- in the next line, and rah€i''tti, II, 10, as well as NabVu^,
line 35. Perhaps we should pronounce rabyii, rabyuti, and recognize in such
forms a trace of the original third radical yod.
44. Assyrian : ina fill abulldti rlmA iri.
45. For RUs, ^ 5 R. 38, obv. i, 8 : hibis — ru-us-su . . . and with the Sum.
term hibis, cf. Assyr. gibSu, gibis, " mass," " size."
50. uUaSSu : aor. II, 2 (Iftaal) of naSi} — XCJ.
51. EsiR-E-A = Assyr. iddA. 4 R. 6, 45/46 /'. !][ T^<■<^ y = id-da-a. S"*
I, 1 rev. id-du u. Cf. The name of the town I-ID, Bit, 5 R. 23, i, rev. 32 ;
and 5 R. 22, i, rev. 25 : E-siR = "^ )^E^^ '• 5 ^^- 3^' '^^'^* ^» 3° • (ta?)-ar—
id-du-u.
Column II.
Transcription.
a§-su ma-a^-a-ar-ti e-sag-illa ciu-un-nu-ni"
li-im-nu'" u sa-ag-gi-su
a-na ba-bi-la™ ki la sa-na-ga-a'"
sa ma-na-ma sarru ma-ah-ri-i'" la i-pu-su
5 in ka-ma-at ba-bi-la"" ki bad.\ da-lum
220
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
ba-la-ar D. utu-e ba-bi-la™ [^i?] u-sa-as-hi-ir
hi-ri-su ah-ri-e-ma
ki-bi-ir-su in esir-e-a u sib-al-ur-ra
u-za-ak-ki-ir hu-ur-sa-ni-is
10 i-ta-at ba-bi-la'" ki si-bi-ik sagar-mes ra-bi-u-ti"'
as-ta-ap-pa-ak-su
mi-li ka-as-sa-a'" me-e ra-bi-u-ti""
ki-ma gi-bi-is ti-a-am-ti'" u-sa-al-mi-is
ap-pa-ri-a"' lu us-ta-as-hi-ir-su
15 a-na sa-ta na-bi-is-ti ni-si'" ba-bi-la"' k/ la-ni'"
i-na ma-ha-az ma-da su-me-er u ak-ka-di-i™
su-um-su'" u-sa-te-ir
E-zi-DA bitu ki-i-nu'" in ba-ar-zi-pa
e-es-si-is e-pu-us e-ri-ni'" (^u-lu-li-su
20 GUSKiN na-am-ra-a"' u-sa-al-bi-is
in GUSKIN KUBABBAR NA NA nc-si-iq-ti""
e-ra-a ir^i( mis-kan-na e-ri-ni™
u-za-'i-in si-ki-in-su D. na-bi-u"" u D. na-na-a
in hi-da-a-ti u ri-sa-a-ti
25 su-ba-at tu-ub li-ib-bi ki-er-ba-su u-se-si-ib
sa u-u"" I-en gu-il-e ma-ra-a gu-su-ul
XVI pa-si-il-lu'" bi-it-ru-ti""
ga-du-u™ sa ilani ba-ar-zi-pa ki
i-si-ih nu-u-nu"' i^-c^u-ru-u™ u-su-um-mu
30 bi-la-a si-ma-at ap-pa-ri-a'"
da-as-pa-a™ si-ra-ru™ ku-ru-un-nu"
si-ka-ar sa-tu-u"' ka-ra-na™ e-el-la"'
di-is-pa hi-me-ti"' si-iz-ba-a" u-ul sa-am-ni
Gis-BARA D. na-bi-u"' u D. na-na-a EN-MEs-e-a
35 e-li sa pa-ni"' u-da-ah-hi-id
sa u-u"' VIII lu-lu gi-ni-e D. ne-uru-gal
D. la-az ilani sa e-sid-lam u gu-du-a-ki u-ki-in
sa-at-tu-uk dimmer-gal-gal us-pa-ar-zi-ih-ma
e-li gi-ni-e la-bi-ri gi-na-a u-sa-te-ir
40 e-u(r)-ra sa UD-KiP-NUN-Ki a-na D. sarasi u D. a-a
bi-e-li-e-a e-es-si-is e-pu-us
e-u(r)-ra sa la-ar-sa-am ki a-na D. samsi u D. a-a
EN-MEs-e-a e-es-si-is e-pu-us
E-Kis-NU-GAL sa sis-URU-Ki a-na D. en-zu-en
45 na-ra-a'" sar-ru-ti-ia e-es-si-is e-pu-us
221
Fi£ii. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1SS8.
E-i-BiL D. A-NUM sa DiL-BAD-Ki a-na D. IB
EN-ia e-es-si-is e-pu-us
E-KU-Gi-NA sa al ba-az a-na D. en-zar-bi
EN-ia e-es-si-is e-pu-us
50 si-ma-a-ti ri-esta-a-ti
bil-lu-di-e ku-ut-mu-u-ti"'
sa D. is-tar unuk bi-e-li-it unuk e-el-li-ti'"
u-te-ir as-ru-us-su-un
a-na unuk se-e-du-u-su
55 a-na e-an-na la-ma-sa-sa da-mi-iq-ti™ u-te-ir
te-me-en-na e-an-na la-bi-ri
a-hi-it ab-ri-e-ma
e-li te-me-en-ni-sa la-bi-ri
u-ki-in us-su-sa
60 D. na-bi-u"'-ku-du-ur-ri-u-9u-ur
Translation.
To strengthen the ^vard of Esagilla,
That foe o7id destroyer
To Babylon might not come nigh ;
( What no former king had done;)
5 In the environs of Babyloii a mighty rampart^
At the ford of the spurns ing, I threw around Babylon.
The 7noat thei'eof I dug, and
The bank thereof tvith gypsum and kiln-brick
1 7-earcd high as the wooded hills.
I o On the flanks of Babylo?i, with a heaping of much earth,
I heaped it up :
A strong flood of many 7vaters,
Like the volume of the sea, I carried round it :
With abundant 7vaters I girded it about.
1 5 That the soul of the people might accept Babylon for
a dwelling-place.
In the capital of Shifiar and Accad
I added a reservoir (?)
Ezida, " The Enduring House," in Borsippa
Ane7e' I made. The cedars of its roof
20 With shining gold I overlaid :
With gold, silver, stones of price.
Bronze, pal/ii-wood, cedar,
C22
Feb; 7] PROCEEDINGS. [liSS.
/ adorned the striiciure thereof : Nebo and Nanaea
With revels and rejoicings
25 In the dwelling of gladness of heart therein I installed.
Of 07ie day, a fine bullock, a falling, a bullock full-grown,
The sixteen sumptuous courses.
The portion of the gods of Borsippa,
Food of fish, fowl, fiesh (.?),
30 Vegetables, tokens of abutidance,
Mead, spiced wine, date wine,
Heady liquor of the hills, pure wine,
Honey, curd, milk, the first of oil,
In the shritie of Nebo afid Nanaea, my lords,
35 Above the former atnount I made plenteous.
On the eighth day the high sacrifice of Nergal
And Laz, the gods of Eshidlani and Cutha, I instituted.
The oblation of the great gods I set apart, a?id
To the old sacrifice a sacrifice I added.
40 The House of Day, at Sepharvaim, for the sun-god and
the fnoon-god,
My lords, a7iew I made.
The House of Day at Ellasar, for the sufi-god and the
moon-god.
My lords, atieiv I made.
The house Kisnugal at Ur for Sin, the lord,
45 The darling of my majesty, aneiv I made.
The house Ibilanu, at Nipur, for Anu,
My lord, anew I made.
The house of Fixed Abode, at Baz,for Enzarbi,
My lord, atiew I made.
50 The spleridid badges.
The binding talismans (?)
Of Ishtar of Freeh, the lady of Freeh illustrious,
I restored to their place.
To Freeh its shedu,
55 To Fanna its holy \?cci\'A%%Vi, I restored.
The old temennu of Famia
I saw, inspected, and
Over its old temennu
/ laid its foundation.
60 Nebuchadrezzar,
223
Fkb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL^OLOGY. [18SS.
Notes to Column II.
1. maffar^u = *m3.nq^Tt\i, from R. na^dru, "to protect." Stand. Inscr. VI, 53.
dunnunu: infin. II, I (piel) of a'a«£^;«<, "to be strong." 5 R. 13, 14 obv. a. b.
K.N-NU-UN = ma-(;a-ar-tu, "watch," " ward," e.^., niMi, "of the night," ikalli,
" of a palace," biibi ckalli, " of the gate of a palace," biti, " of a house," eqli, " of
a field," kirt, "of a garden," etc.
2. Sa<;giSu = ^AqiSu: ptcp. I, I o{ SaqiUn, " to slay," "destroy." Tigl. I, II,
agis limni, " slayer of the foe." 5 R. 17, 2, 37 : i^ ^^^ ^ = sa-ka-su".
3. la sanaga^^ : infm. depending on aSSu"^, For sandqu, see note on Stand.
Inscr. VI, 40.
5. kam&ti : see Flood III, 7. bada dalum = dtlni dannu.
6. balar: set balri : Stand. Inscr. V, 35.
7. Jitrtsu — hlrit + su.
10. sagar mes = c'pi>-i, plur. oi cpni ; Stand. Inscr. VI, 49.
12. mili : Stand. Inscr. VII, 51, niilu^. kaSSa™^ : kaSSii — kaSuSu, "strong"; cf.
kiSSiUu, "strength," Tigl. I, 25; and 2 R. 31, No. 3, 59, 66.
14. apparium: see I, 19.
15. Sata: seel, 12. For lanu, see 5 R. Ii, 50b. id-mar ] t^fffy I^C^^^ I
la-a-nu. The ideogram is to be read in-gar ; 2 R. 42, No. 4, 56 sq. rev. That
AJ«M is also syn. with a/^^frw, "to be strong," "enduring," "to last," "abide"
(Stand. Inscr. X, 4), is shewn, ibid., 55.
16. mahaz y[.fi.\iA. = dl irfiti'^ of the Standard Inscription.
17. SumSit: see 5 R. 22, 53 sqq. Rev. col. II.
mu-u
Se
ma-'
5um-su
tiii'i means "water," and ma' probably "watercourse." With Se, cf. Arab.
-*<»;, " to go," " run."
19. (ululiSu : with fu. Stand. Inscr. always zu.
21. Assyr. inajiuraci kaspi abni nisiqti^^.
22. miskanna : elsewhere niismakanna
23. Sikin: construct of Sikmi : cf. Siknatu in uSapil sikiiat napisti, "they
created things of life." (Creation Fragment.) R. Sakdnu, " to make," "set up,"
etc. But (/. 5 R. 32, I obv. 24, b. c. qadil Sika)ii=Siknu Sa iidri, "the bed of a
ri\er."
25. t fib — tub. See note on I, 10.
27. pasillu"^ : Is this a metathesis of ?QD, Judg. v, 25 ; vi, 38? Or must we
rather compare the root ?DD, "to carve"? In either case the term seems to
mean "dish:" compare the parallel line I, 17: ^iza zHluhe daiugitti^. As to
bitrAW^, it is plur. oi hiirii, which might be compared with X^"]3, "fat," " rich,"
of food (Hab. i, 16) and with rr\2, "to eat," n-lia, "food." But from 5 R. 20,
2, 39: NAM-EN-AK-A = bit-ru-u, the conclusion seems to be that bitr^ is a verbal
adj. from birfi, "to see," " look at," and means spectabilis, insignis.
224
Feb. 7] * PROCEEDINGS. ■ [1888.
29. hih: construct of is^u; cf. V%^\ "food" (?), Mic. vi, 14; or perhaps Arab.
^J^'' "basket."
31. sirdru"^ : cf. Ill, \^, tibiq sirarti^ , " a pouring out or libation of j-zVar?/™. "
Arab. "J 1".^ "a cause of delight," "pleasant object"; from ^, "to please."
33. Mu : cf Arab. JjU ^%\ 1 primus ; and the parallel expression I, 20,
dumuq Samni^. The'Heb. root 7IX also means " to be in front," " foremost."
35. tidalihid : aor. II, i of dahddu, syn. o{na]iaSu, "to be full," "abound;" cf.
Targumic TnT "to gladden."
36. lulu: In the Stand. Inscr. lule occurs often, in the sense of "fulness,"
"abundance." Is the meaning here " the plenty of the feast (or sacrifice) "? See
next note. Perhaps hilu is the name of the month { — ululu, Elul).
gi7t{l: cf. Syr. p_. ad canam accubuit ; f^\ stratus in triclitiio. Thus
gitiA might mean " feast," " banquet." But line 39 seems to require the meaning
"sacrifice"; seel, 15, and compare Syr. 1 , 1 delubrum, sacclhun, teniphun,
idolum, and sacrificiwn (Lib. Adam). See Payne Smith's Thesaiir. Syr. The
meaning "garden," which elsewhere belongs to ginO, does not suit here. Cf
also 5 R 38, obv. I, 14, GI-NA — gi-nu-u.
ne-uru-gal : see Delitzsch, Lesestiicke, Schrifttafel, 242.
In 5 R 46, 19, c. d. we read : a-ri-a | D. lu-gal gu-du-a-ki.
37. Eshidlam was the chief temple of Nergal at Cutha.
38. uSparzih : a quadriliteral, like Heb. TK'ID, Job. xxvi, 9. Cf. Arab. . ;
" to set apart or " aside.
40. UD-KiP-NUN-Ki : see 5 R 23, i, 29, rev. zi-im-bir | ud-kip-nun-ki |
si-ip-(par).
aa : the moon god; cf. Egyptian aah, the moon. Larsa^ : 5 R. 41, \q h.
la-ar-su.
48. Enzarbi: 5 R 46, 18 c. d., D. zar-bu-u — D. en-zar-bi (.') " Lord of Silver "
{farpu).
51. billude : a Sumerian loan-word. S*" 215 : billudn jt >->-Y bilhidil.
UNUK : 5 R. 23, I, 8 obv. Assyr. u-ru-uk, 5 R. 41, 15 h.
kutmil : perhaps adj. from kanin, " to bind."
54. Sedu : usually compared with It/'^ while lamassti is of Sumerian origin.
The two terms denote the bull-colossi of doorways, and the good genii repre-
sented by them. In Shabbath 63 b., 1. i, it is said that DQp means a dog "in
Greek."
56. /^;«^«w«< .• a Sumerian loan-word. S''3iij tim-me-en-na ■V^Y te-me-en-nu.
The term seems to denote the memorial cylinders buried under the foundations of
temples and palaces (i R. 69, 41 sqq. b ; Tigl. VIII, 43, and Lotz's note), and
then the foundations themselves (iii, 35 ; Sarg. Cyl. 65).
57. ahtt: aor. II, i of Mtu, "to see": 2 R. 36, g a. b. ; Tigl. I, 7.
abre : aor. I, I oi berU ; see Stand. Inscr. 111,63. R. y"13.
225
FEB. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1S88.
Column III.
Trafiscription.
is-sa-ak-ku zi-i-ri
za-ni-in ma-ha-az dimmer-gal-gal a-na-ku
a-na e-sag-illa u e-zi-da
ka-ak-da-a ka-a-a-na-ak
5 pi (?) as-ra-at D. na-bi-u™ u D. mar-duk bi-e-li-e-a
as-te-ni-'i-a ka-a-a-na™
i-si-na-a-ti(?)-su-nu da-am-ga-a-ti"'
a-ki-su-nu ra-bi-ti""
in GU-iL-E GU-iL-E pa-ak-lu-ti
10 GU-SU-UL GU-SU-UL
zu-lu-hi-e da-am-ma-ti"
IM-Mi-IR-Mi-IR gu-uk-ka-al-la"
u-su-um-mu bi-e-la-a nu-u-nu" i9-9U-ru-u'"
si-ma-at ap-pa-ri-i"'
15 ti-bi-iq si-ra-ru"" la ne-bi ma-mi-is ka-ra-na™
sa-at-ti-sa-a™ in nuh-si u he-gal-e
in ma-ha-ri-su-nu e-te-it-ti-iq
ni-si"" ra-ap-sa-a-ti sa D. mar-duk bi-e-la
u-ma-al-lu-u ga-tu-u-a
20 a-na ba-bi-la™ ki u-ka-an-ni-is
bi-la-at ma-da ma-da bi-si-it sa-tu-u'"
hi-sab ta-as-a-ti"" ki-er-ba-su am-hu-ur
a-na ^i-il-li-su da-ri-i
ku-ul-la-at ni-si'" ta-bi-is u-pa-ah-hi-ir
25 ur-ri-e se-i'" DA-LUM-ti""
la ne-bi as-ta-pa-ak-su
i-nu-su E-GAL mu-sa-ab sar-ru-ti-ia
ma-ar-ka-as ni-si'" ra-bi-a-ti""
su-ba-at ri-sa-a-ti u hi-da-a-ti""
30 a-sar ka-ad-ru-ti" uk-ta-an-na-su
i-na ba-bi-la'" ki e-es-si-is e-pu-us
in ki-gal-la"" ri-es-ti-i
in i-ra-at er-zi-ti™ ra-pa-as-ti™
in ESIR-E-A U SIB-AL-UR-RA
35 u-sa-ar-si-id te-me-en-sa
e-ri-ni'" DA-LUM-ti'" ul-tu la-ab-na-ni'" ki-is-ti'"
226
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
e-el-li-ti"' a-na zu-lu-li-sa lu u-bi-la""
BADA DA-LUM
in KSIR-E-A U SIB-AL-UR-RA
40 u-sa-as-hi-ir-su
pa-ra-as sar-ru-ti su-lu-uh be-lu-ti""
i-na li-ib-bi-sa u-sa-pa-a™
as-si ga-ta u-sa-al-la-a en-en-en
a-na D. mar-duk ri-mi-ni-i il-li-ku su-bu-u-a
45 EN MA-DA MA-DA D. AMAR-UTU
si-mi ci-it bi-ia
bit e-pu-su la-la-sa lu-us-bi-a"'
i-na ba-bi-la™ ki in ki-er-bi-su
si-bu-tu lu-uk-su-ud
50 lu-us-ba-a li-it-tu-ti
sa LUGAL LUGAL ki-ib-ra-a-ti'"
sa ka-la te-ne-se-e-ti
bi-la-su-nu
ka-bi-it-ti
55 lu-um-hu-ur
ki-ri-ib-sa
li-bu-u-a
i-na ki-er-bi-sa
a-na DA-ER-a-ti""
60 ^al-ma-at ga-ga-da"" li-bi-e-lu
Translatiofi.
The pontiff supreme.
The stistainer of the toiun of the giraf gods am I.
To Esagilla and Ezida
hi chief was I tme ;
5 The oracle of the places of N^ebo and Mei'odach^ my lords,
I seek mito faithfully.
Their holy festivals.
Their great batiquet,
With fine large bullocks,
10 Bullocks full-grown.
Pure dishes,
A savour of victims (?),
Flesh (?), vegetables, fish, final,
Tokens of almfidance,
227
Fkp.. 7] SOCIKTV OF lUDLICAL ARCII.KOLOGV. [18SS.
1 5 An outpouring of fragrant 7i.'ine, measureless, like water, tcnne.
Year by year i?i abundaiice and plenty
Before them I present.
The 7vide-spread peoples with whom Mcrodach, the lord,
Filled my hand,
20 To Babylon I stibjected.
The tribicte of the cou7itries, the produce of the hills.
The fubiess of seas, therein I received.
Unto its eternal shelter {lit. shadow')
The 7uhole of the people I joyfully gathered.
25 Great stores of corn.
Measureless, I heaped it zip.
At that time, the palace, the seat of my sovereignty
The meeting-place of many peoples.
The home of revels and rejoiciiigs,
30 The place where tribute-bearers assemble.
In Babyloji anew I made.
In hollow vast^
In the bosom of broad Earth,
In gypsu7n and kiln-brick
35 I made fast its foundation.
Huge cedars from Lebanon, the forest
Noble, for the roofing of it I brought.
A might rainpart
In gypsum and kiln-brick
40 / threw around it.
A reserve of royalty, a stronghold of lordship,
I?i the heart of it I created.
I lifted zip hands, I besought the lord of lords.
To Merodach the merciful went my prayers :
45 '■'■ Lord of the lands, O Merodach,
Hear the titierance of my mouth !
The house I have made — with the fulness thereof may I be
satisfied !
In Babylon within it
Hoar age may I attain unto I
50 Alay I be satisfied ivith children !
Of the ki?igs of the regions
Of all ma7ikind
Their tribute
228
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. fiSSS.
Heavy
55 May I receive
Therein !
My posterity
In the midst thereof
Hereafter
60 The dark-headed race may they rule I "
Notes to Column III.
4. kakdd : contraction of kakkadd (qaqqada) : see note, Stand. Inscr. Ill, 20.
kadnak: perf. I, i oikdnu = \y:i.
5. pi: lit. "mouth" : cf. ''S Ex. xvii, i ; Is. xxx, 2. The character (S:T>-)
is queried as doubtful in I R. The vStandard Inscr. I, 28 has simply aSrat Hi
astcne.
7. isindti : plur. of isinu, Stand. Inscr. IV, 2.
8. akisunu = ak!/ -\r Slum. Stand. Inscr. IV, 7 : "The House of the Offerings
of the high feast of the lord of the gods."
9. paklu: 2 R 31, No. 3, 2() = esqu, and syn. of daiutii.
11. dainindti™ : a scribe's error for dat/igi'Ui™ : see I, 17.
12. m-UlV.MiK giikkal/a™. Both IM and MIRMIR denote " wind." 5 R. 11,
uz-zu
sa-a-ru™
me-hu-u.
The scent or savour, the Kvlaa, or nrT'J H"'") of the offerings, may therefore be
intended. Possibly, however, the second inir is a clerical error, and the term
originally meant was immeru, " lamb."
gukkalln\'iz.\QM\-\\oxA.: S^ I, 12 Rev. gu-uk-kal = gu-uk-kal-]u™. The term
seems to denote a sacrificial animal, probably a sheep, as the ideograph comprises
the sign J^lT, and the preceding term is im-me-ru, " lamb."
15. nidmis : adv. from mdmt=me, as Samdnii=same. I, 26, kima Jiit- = i/id/ii!s.
siraru^ : There was a town called Si-ra-ra ; 5 R. 23, 31, i, rev. (another
name of Erech ; ilu'd., obv. 7).
17. etettiq : pres. i, 2 of cicqu, pny. In Tigl. Ill, 47, etc. 6Y£'//V/ is intrans. ,
" I advanced."
18. bcla : genitive in a, like sa/iaga"\ ii, 3.
19. For the phrase, see Ex. xxviii, 41 ; i Chron. xxix, 5.
21. I'isit satn™ = bisili Sadu™, Stand. Inscr. 11,34- This comparison proves
that sain in tliis inscription is only a mode of writing Sddu™, "mountains."
(1,21.)
22. hisab ta-as-a-ti™ : aS is an error of transcription for ma: as we see from the
parallel passage, Stand. Inscr. II, 35, hisbi ta-ma-a-ti'".
229
44 sqq. b.
ME-IR
MIR
ME-IR
IM
ME-IR
ME-IR
IM-MIR-RA
Fei!. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [i8S8.
23. ihh-il: ( = ^/<r?>«), ptcp. I, I ofdaiu"in.
25. tin 11: "heap." cf. Heb. IH, construct ])1 a r. ^"nil, "mountains." See
5 K. 40. No. 3, 27 sqq. §a-ad ur-ri; se-bu-u; ni-mc-lu; e-niu-qu; as synonyms.
27. inn: "time." Stand. Inscr. I, 40.
28. markaS=markas: Stand. Inscr. VII, 37. In Tigl. VI, 12, we even find
raSpu = rafpu. For the root, see Exod. xxviii, 28.
30. kadriiti^: at first I took this as plur. of qadrii = qadiru ; Arab. ,j\j .
Mr. Pinches informs me that the term occurs with the sense given it above.
uktannaSu : pres. II, 2 of kanaSit = Heb. and Aram. D33.
32. See Stand. Inscr. VIII, 60. /^esfii is explained by Schrader hervorra-
gettd, erhaben, erlmiclit. But the term probably answers to Heb. JT'C'S"), a noun
denoting "the first of its kind" in various senses, e.g. "firstling," "first-born,"
Gen. xlix, 3; Lev. ii, 12; Prov. viii, 22; and "the choicest and best" of
anything, i Sam. xv, 21 ; Amos vi, 6. In Stand. Inscr. V, 21 abilsu reStd may
therefore be rendered "his first-born son." And reSti Same ti irfiti^, 3.i\i\e oi
Ishtar, may be compared with the use of reshith in Prov. viii, 22 (see 2 R. 66, I ;
4 R. 22, 29 — 30 b, where Merodach is called du-sag-ab-zu-(a)-kid = mar
restu sa apsi, "first-born son of the abyss"). See also 5 R. 38, obv. 2, 16 : sag
= ri-is-tu.
41 paras or parac {?) construct o{ parsu or fairii (?) A haram or "sanctum,"
a separate abode, seems to be meant ; cf. Heb. CIS trennen, absondern, unter-
cheiden ; whence t^'•'l"l^ "Pharisee."
Sulnh : construct of Sidfiii, which is connected with Sallju, "wall." (Cf. Ax
vJ.*«s " hide," " skin").
43. gaia, i.e., qdtd, dual o{ qati), "hand."
44. Cf. Ps. xviii, 6.
53 bi/astemt = bi/atsutiu, ^iand. Inscr. X, li.
54. kahitti : kabtti, "heavy," f. kabitlii. Kahtti is related to Heb. kdbed, as
abdtu ("to perish ") is to Heb. 'ahdJ.
59. DA-ER-a-ti" : 5 R. 21, 15, i obv. DA-ER = ar-ka-tu. The phrase in the
text is, therefore, ana arkdti'^, "hereafter," "for the future;" and Stand. Inscr.
X, 18 is to be read and rendered in the same way.
60. " The dark-headed race," i.e., mankind in general : sec Stand. Inscr.
ad fin.
li belli : precative, from W/«=7yZl; aor. ibel, ibil.
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The " Peoples of the Sea " of Merenptah.
February 2, 1888.
Dear Sir,
The very valuable notes on "The Peoples of the Sea," by
M. Max Muller, in last month's Proceedings, have reference chiefly to
the practice of circumcision amongst the neighbours of the Egyptian
people, and incidentally refer to the observance of it amongst
themselves.
Thinking that I may be able to throw some light upon the
probable cause of the African origin of the practice, which may be
interesting from an Egyptological and anthropological point of view,
I forward the following note : —
When in South Africa, I noticed the prevalence of a disease
known as " Haematurea," which is peculiar to the colonies there and
to Egypt at the present day. It is also at the Cape confined to the
male colonists there, and is found to be produced by a parasite
Bilharzia H(smatobia, which takes up its abode in the urinary tract.
It is a disease almost only induced in youths who bathe in the
African rivers, and Dr. Allen, of Pietermaritzburg, has in a con-
vincing memorandum on the subject recently shown that the surest
and best protection from the parasite is the practice of circumcision.
He adds, " It is very probable that in ancient Egypt the presence
of this little fluke in the Nile water suggested the adoption of the
operation." M. Max Miiller's view that only African tribes, namely
those exposed to the same danger, are shown on the monuments
to have practised the rite, confirms this. To-day in parts of Africa
where this fluke is found, circumcision is practised by the Basutos
and other tribes, and it would be interesting to know if the fluke is
to be detected in Palestinian rivers.
W. H. Rylands, Esq., F.S.A.
Yours faithfully,
J. Offord, jun.
Feb. 7] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
The next Meeting of the Society will be held at 9, Conduit
Street, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesday, 6th March, 1888,
at 8 p.m., when the following Papers will be read : —
Prof. E. Amelineau : " Le Manuscrit Copte No. i de la Biblio-
theque de Lord Zouche."
Prof. E. and Dr. V. Revillout : " Textes Egyptians et Chal-
deens relatifs a I'intercession des vivants en faveur des morts."
ERRATUM.
Proceedings, loth January, 1888.
Page 145, line ^,for 1, read"^..
Feb. 7] PROCEEDINGS. [18SS.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE
LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY.
BOTTA, Monuments de Ninive. 5 vols., folio. 1847-185O.
Place, Ninive et I'Assyrie, 1866-1869. 3 vols., folio.
Brugsch-Bey, Geographische Inschriften Altaegyptische Denkmaeler. Vols.
I— III (Brugsch).
■ Recueil de Monuments Egyptiens, copies sur lieux et publics par II.
Brugsch et J. Diimichen. (4 vols., and the text by Dumichen
of vols. 3 and 4.)
DuAircHEN, Historische Inschriften, &c., ist series, 1867.
2nd series, 1869.
• Altaegyptische Kalender-Inschriften, 1886.
Tempel-Inschriften, 1862. 2 vols., folio.
GoLENiscHEFF, Die Metternichstele. Folio, 1877.
Lepsius, Nubian Grammar, &c., 1880.
De Roug6, Etudes Egyptologiques. 13 vols., complete to 1880.
Wright, Arabic Grammar and Chrestomathy.
ScHROEDER, Die Phonizische Sprache.
Haupt, Die Sumerischen Familiengesetze.
ScHRADER, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament. 1S72.
Rawlinson, Canon, 6th Ancient Monarchy.
BuRKHARDT, Eastern Travels.
Wilkinson, Materia Hieroglyphica. Malta, 1824-30. {Text only.)
Chabas, Melanges Egyptologiques. Series I, III. 1862-1873.
Voyage d'un Egyptien en Syrie, en Phenicie, &c. 4to. 1867.
Le Calendrierdes Jours Pastes et Nefastes de I'annee Egyptienne. 8vo. 1S77.
E. Gayet, Steles de la XII dynastie au Musee du Louvre.
Ledrain, Les Monuments Egyptiens de la Bibliotheque Nationale.
Nos. I, 2, 3, Memoires de la Mission Archeologique Francais au Caire.
Sarzec, Decouvertes en Chaldee.
Lefebure, Les Hypogees Royaux de Thebes.
Sainte Marie, Mission a Carthage.
GuiMET, Annales du Musee Gumiet. Memoires d'Egyptologie.
Lefebure, Le Mythe Osirien. 2nd partie. "Osiris."
Lepsius, Les Metaux dans les Inscriptions Egyptiennes, avec notes par W. Berend.
D. G. Lyon, An Assyrian Manual.
A. Amiaud and L. Mechineau, Tableau Compare des Ecritures Babyloniennes
et Assyriennes.
Erman, Aegypten u. Agyptisches Leben im Altertum.
2 parts, Mittheilungen aus der Sammlung der Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer.
ROBIOU, Croyances de I'Egypte a I'epoque des Pyramides.
Recherches sur le Calendrier en Egypte et sur le chronologic des Lagides.
Pognon, Les Inscriptions Babyloniennes du Wadi Brissa.
NEW SERIES.
IRecocbs of tbe jp^ast.
BEING
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
OF THE
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.
Messrs. Bagster intend to issue a new series of " Records of the Past,"
the first two volumes of wliich will appear early in the year, i888, under
the editorship of Prof. Sayce. He will be assisted in the work by Mr. Le
Page Renouf Prof. Maspero, Mr. Budge, Mr. Pinches, Prof. Oppert.
M. Amiaud, and other distinguished Egyptian and x\ssyrian scholars.
The new series of volumes will differ from its predecessor in several
respects, more especially in the larger amount of historical, religious, and
geographical information contained in the introductions and notes, as well
as in references to points of contact between the monumental ■ records and
the Old Testament. It is proposed to publish translations of Egyptian and
Assyrian texts in the same volume.
The size of the volumes will be as before, crown octavo. Price, ;is. 6t/.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
TLbc Bronse ©niaments of tbe
lp)alace (3ates from Balawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, II, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordance with the terms of the original prospectus, the price for
each part is now raised to ^i los. ; to Members of the Society (the original
price) j^i IS.
Society of Biblical Archaeology.
COUNCIL, 1888.
President : —
P. LE Page Renouf.
Vice-Presidents : —
Rev. Frederick Charles Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.
Lord Halsbury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., &c., Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart., D.C.L., M.D., &c., &c.
J. Manship Norman, M.A.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Rouert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterlnny.
Coimeil : —
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, j\LP., &c. j Rev. Albert Lovvy.
Rev. Charles James Ball. | Rev. James Marshall.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A. F. D. Mocatta.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
Arthur Gates. j J. Pollard.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Chkvne, D.D. \ F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
Thomas Christy, F.L.S. [ E. Towry Whyte, INLA.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A. ' Rev. W, Wright, D.D.
Honorary 7"nv7.f«;vr— liERNARi) T. BOSANQUET,
Secretary — W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A.
Honorary Secretary for Foreii^n Correspondence — Pkof. A. IL Saycf, M.A.
Honorary Librarian — William Simpson, ?".R.G..S.
lIAKMbuN ANU SONS, I'HI.NTIiUS IN OKUIN^MiV TO lILl; .MAJESTY, -T. .M.AKl IN S I.AMi
VOL. X. Part 5.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
-#';&-
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION,
Fi/t/i Meeting, 6th March, 18S8.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Professor E. Am£lineau. — Le Manuscrit Copte No. i de la
Bibliotheque de Lord Zouche 235-246
P. LE Page Renouf (President). — Pronominal Forms in Egyptian 247-264
Dr. Bezold. — ANew Text concerning the Star Kak-si-di [t, plates) 265
Professor E. and Dr. V. Revillout. — Notice sur un Nouveau
Contrat date d'Hammourabi et sur les donnees historiques que
nous fournissent les contrats de ce temps 266-280
Rev. James Marshall. — The Account of St. Paul at Athens,
illustrated by Monuments and Literature 281-286
Max MiJLLER. — Supplementary Notes to the "Notes on the
Peoples of the Sea" 287-2S9
Rev. C. J. Ball. — Inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar II. No. Ill,
The Cylinder of Mr. Rich. No. IV, A Cylinder from Babylon.
No. Y, The Cylinders from Senkereh 290-299
-^^
PUBLISHED AT
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
18 88.
[No. LXXIV.]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
II, Hart Street, Bloomsburv, W.C.
PRICE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
Vol.
I, Pn
It I
I, ,
, 2
n, ,
, I
n, ,
, 2
III, ,
, I
III, ,
,2
IV, ,
, I
IV, ,
, 2
V, ,
, I
V, ,
, 2
VI, ,
, I
VI, ,
, 2
VII, ,
, I
VII, ,
! 2
VII, ,
) 3
VIII, ,
, I
VIII, ,
,2
VIII, ,
) 5
IX, ,
, I
To RIejibeus
s.
d.
10
6
lO
6
8
o
8
o
8
o
S
o
lO
6
10
6
12
6
lO
6
lO
6
lO
6
7
6
ID
6
ID
6
ID
6
lO
6
lO
6
lO
6
Vol. I, Session 1878-79
II,
III,
IV,
V,
VI,
VII,
VIII,
IX,
X,
1879-80
1880-81
I8SI-82
1882-83
I883-S4
1884-85
I885-S6
1886-87
1887-88
2
0
4
0
4
0
4
0
5
0
5
0
5
0
2
0
PROCEEDINGS.
ler I'art
in p
To N
ON-
Members
s.
d.
12
6
12
6
10
6
10
6
10
6
10
6
12
6
12
6
IS
0
12
6
12
6
12
6
10
6
12
6
12
6
12
6
12
6
12
6
12
6
2
6
2
6
5
0
5
0
5
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
2
6
It
)gress 2
6
A few complete sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may be
obtained on application to the Secretary, W. H, Rylands, F.S.A., II, Hart
Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
Fifth Meeting, dth March, i88S.
P. LE PAGE RENOUF, Esq., President,
IN THE CHAIR.
^^^^
The following Presents were announced, and thanks
ordered to be returned to the Donors : —
From P. J. de Horrack : — Melanges Egyptologiques. Deuxienie
Serie, Comprenant des articles de MM. C. W. Goodwin,
Dr. Edw. Hincks et Dr. S. Birch. Par F. Chabas. 1864.
Chalon. 8vo.
Dictionnaire d'Archeologie Egyptienne.
Par Paul Pierret. Paris. 1875.
Etudes sur le Papyrus Prisse. Le livre
Kaqimna et les Legons de Ptah-Hotep. Par Philippe Virey,
&c. Paris. 1S87.
Bibliotheque des Hautes Etudes. Soixante-Dixieme Fascicule.
From Miss H. M. Adair : — Voyage d'un Egyptien en Syrie
Phenicie et Palestine, &c., au XIV^™^ siecle avant notre ere.
Par F. Chabas, avec la collaboration de Ch. Wicliffe Goodwin,
Esq., M.A. 4to. Chalon et Paris. 1866.
From the Author : — J. N. Strassmaier, S.J. Babylonische Texte
Inschriften von Nabonidus. By Dr. C. Bezold.
[No. Lxxiv.] 233 X
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOCV. [1888.
From the Author : — Eine Bemerkung zur Antares Literatur. Par
Dr. C. Bezold.
From Dr. C. Bezold : — Die Altbabylonischen Graber in Singhul
und El Hibba. Par Robert Koldeway.
From the Author : — Note sur la Grande Inscription Neo-Punique
et sur une autre Inscription d'Altiburos. Par M. Philippe Berger.
8vo. Paris. 1887.
Extrait du Journal Asiatique.
From the Author: — Memoire sur deux Nouvelles Inscriptions
Pheniciennes de I'ile de Chypre. Par M. Philippe Berger. 4to.
Paris. 1887.
Extrait des Comptes Rendus de I'Accad. des Inscr. et Belles-
Lettres. Seances i®"^ et 6Avril, 1887.
The following were nominated for election at the next
Meeting on May ist, 1888 : —
Mrs. W. D. Paine, Cockshot Hill, Reigate.
Rev. C. M. Cobern, M.A., Ph.D., Cass Avenue, M.E. Church,
Detroit, Mich., U.S.A.
The following was submitted for election and elected a
Member, having been nominated on February 7th, 1888 : —
Rev. R. H. A. Bradley, M.A., la, Russell Square, W.C.
A Paper by Prof. E. Amelineau, entitled " Le Manuscrit
Copte No. I de la Bibliotheque de Lord Zouche," was read
by the Secretary.
Remarks were added by Rev. J. Marshall, Mr. J. Offord,
Mr. T. Christy, and the President.
A Paper by Prof. E. et Dr. V. Revillout, entitled, " Textcs
Egyptiens et Chald^ens rclatifs a I'intcrcession des vivants
en favcur des morts," was read by the Secretary, which will
be issued in a future number of the Proceedings.
Remarks were added by Rev. A. Lowy, Dr. S. Louis,
Mr. J. Pollard, and the President.
Thanks were returned for these communications.
234
Mar. 6J PROCEEDINGS. [iSS8.
LE MANUSCRIT COPTE NO. i DE LA BIBLIOTHEQUE
DE LORD ZOUCHE.
By Professor E. Amelineau.
Un certain nombre de bibliotheques privees en Angleterre
renferment de precieux manuscrits que leurs possesseurs mettent
avec la plus grande complaisance a la disposition des specialistes
dont les etudes sont interessees par les antiques oeuvres de civilisa-
tions disparues et d'un passe' presque eteint. Plusieurs fois deja
j'ai eprouve les effets de cette complaisance : toutes les fois que mes
etudes I'ont exige ou simplement occasionne, le noble Comte de
Crawford and Balcarres a bien voulu m'envoyer ses plus precieux
manuscrits coptes. Tout recemment Lord Zouche a fait deposer a
la Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris certains manuscrits de meme
langue, afin que je pusse m'en servir pour etudier le texte du
Nouveau Testament dans sa double version Copte, Memphitique et
Thebaine, et etablir ce texte selon les progres et les exigences de la
critique et de la science modernes. C'est sur I'un de ces manuscrits
que je voudrais attirer aujourd'hui I'attention du monde savant, plus
specialement I'attention des savants, des theologiens et des histo-
riens qui s'occupent de suivre a travers les premiers siecles de I'ere
chretienne le developpement des dogmes du christianisme et qui
recherchent avec avidite tous les debris echappes a la ruine et au
temps. Mais auparavant, qu'il me soit permis de remercier publique-
ment ici, puisque j'en trouve I'occasion la haute intelligence des
nobles Lords qui j'ai nommes : le plus noble emploi que Ton puisse
faire de ses richesses litteraires, c'est de les faire connaitre et de les
mettre en circulation.
Le manuscrit de Lord Zouche sur lequel je veux appeler une
particuli<l;re attention n'est pas completement inconnu. Tout d'abord
il en est naturellement fait mention dans le catalogue imprime de
la bibliotheque de feu Mr. R. Curzon, a Parham,* et depuis Mr.
Wright t et Mgr. Lightfoot,;}: eveque de Durham, ont eu I'occasion
* Le MSS. parte le no. 102 dans le cat. imprime et le no. i des MSS. Coptes
sur vellum.
+ Qi. Journal of Sacred Literature, VII.
+ Dans: Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament de Mr. .Scriver.tr,
p. 82.
235 X 2
M\r6] society of biblical ARCILEOLOGV. [i8S8.
d'en parler. Te viens de le copier entierement et de I'etudier, et je
me crois maintenant a mcme d'en parler en toute connaissance de
cause. Cette etude m'a pris beaucoup de temps et cause une assez
grande fatigue ; mais je suis completement de I'avis de Mgr. Light-
foot mon temps et ma peine ont ete amplcment recompenses par
les resultats de I'etude.*
L'origine et I'histoire du dit manuscrit sont consignees sur une
feuille de papier que Ton a avec beaucoup de raison laissee dans le
manuscrit meme : je ne saurais mieux faire que de transcrire ici ces
indications dont la ])lupart ont d'ailleurs pris place dans le catalogue
imprime de la bibliotheque de Parham. Voici cette note if "Mr.
R. Curzon brought this volume from the Coptic Monastery of
Souriani on the Natron Lakes, to the west of the village of Teranneh
on the Nile, in the month of March, 1838. It consists of 254 leaves
of vellum, which contain two indexes, and the GosiJels of St.
ALatthew and St. Mark, with the Commentaries of St. Cyril, St.
Chrysostom, Eusebius, Gregory the Patriarch, etc. The leaves are
not in their proper places ; they have been put together just as they
came over, to prevent their being lost. The name of the scribe who
wrote this MS. is Zapita Leporos, a monk of the monastery of
Laura, under the rule of the Abbot Macarius. Macarius of Alexandria,
abbot of the monks of Nitria, died according to the Art de Verifier
les Dates, either in the year 395 or 405 ; it would therefore appear
that this manuscript must have been written before the end of the
fourth century, in which case it is the most ancient book in existence
with a date. Several of the Syriac MSS. which were brought to
England from the same monastery in which this was discovered, are
supposed to be of equal antiquity ; the earliest of those which have
any date given in them is a quarto of Eusebius which was written
in the year 411: it is now in the British Museum. It seems how-
ever tliat this manuscript is even made more ancient, as it was
probably written about the year 390."
Cette note, precieuse a beaucoup d'egards, contient un certain
nombre d'inexactitudes, comme il est evident a ccux qui se sont
occupes d'histoire ecclesiastique. Si le manuscrit eCit ete ecrit
vers I'annee 390 de notre ere, il serait assez difficile d'expliquer
comment il pcut contcnir certains passages dcs oeuvres de St. Jean
* This magnificent M.S. would well repay careful inspection. Ibid., p. 382.
t Je rcspecte I'Drthographe et la ponctuation de roriginal.
236
Mar. 6] I'ROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Chrysostome, qui ne fut connu en Egypte qu'apres avoir ete nonime
archeveque de Constantinople,* c'est-a-dire apres cette date. En
outre, comme I'a deja remarque Mr. Wriglit, le nom du patriarche
Severe, posterieur au concile de Chalcedoine (451) est un obstacle
insurmontable qui se dresse devant la precedente conclusion. |
Mr. Wright a pense qu'il ne s'agissait pas ici du grand Macaire ;
mais Mgr. Lightfoot a fait observer avec raison, qu'il s'agissait bien
du grand Macaire de Scete, et que rien n'indiquait qu'il fut alors
vivant.J Je dois faire observer a ce propos que le Macaire dont
il s'agit ici n'est pas Macaire d'Alexandrie qui ne fut jamais
hegoum^ne des monasteres de Nitrie et de Scete, mais le grand
Macaire lui-meme surnomme I'Egyptien. II y eut en effet a la
meme epoque et dans le meme desert deux Macaires qui obtinrent
une celebrite presque egale en Egypte : I'un etait un ancien mime
d'Alexandrie qui se fit moine et pratiqua des penitences extra-
ordinaires, c'est celui qui est appele Macaire le jeune, Macaire
le petit ou plus communement Macaire d'Alexandrie; I'autre etait
ne dans un petit village de I'Egypte, avait ete marie centre son gre,
avait laisse sa femme, s'etait retire pres d'un village de la Haute
Egypte ou il fut I'objet d'un supplice barbare autant qu'immerite :
il s'etait alors rendu a Nitrie, avait fait par deux fois le voyage de
la mer Rouge pour s'instruire pres du grand Antoine, et s'etait
definitivement fixe dans le desert de Scete, pres de la montagne
de Pernoudj, ou il devint peu a peu le chef de tous les moines
qui pullulaient deja en cette contree : c'est Macaire I'Ancien,
Macaire le Grand ou Macaire I'Egyptien. § C'est celui dont il est
question dans la note que le scribe a ecrite a la fin de I'Evangile
* Le MSS. lui-meme en fournit la preuve, car il appelle St. Jean Chrysostome,
archeveque de Constantinople.
t Ce Severe est un patriarche d'Antioche qui dut se refugier en Egypte
apres avoir ete chasse de son siege pour eutycliianisme. II jouit d'une grande
popularite en Egypte.
X Cf. Scrivener : op. cit. p. 3S2, note i.
§ La distinction est deja faite par I'auteur de V-Historia Monachortmi attribuee
a Rufin et par I'alladius dans I'Histoire Lausiaque. Cf. E. Amelineau : De
Historia Lausiaca, p. 12, et seqq. Les vies de ces deu.x Macaires ont ete conservees
en Copte. Je les ai copiees et traduites et les publierai des que je le pourrai. Elles
formeront avec les ouvrages qui se rapportent a Nitrie les IIP et IV^ volumes
(le mes Afonumeiits pour sei'vir a thistoire de VEg^'pte clu-etienne, dont le premier
vient de paraltre.
237
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [iSSS.
selon St. Matthieu. Ce scribe, comme I'a deja fait oljserver Mgr.
Lightfoot, ne s'appelait point Sapita Leporos ; mais bien " Theodore
(ou Theodose) de Busiris, moine indigne de la laure sainte du grand
abbe Macaire." L'auteur de la note manuscrite que je discute
presentement a mal lu le texte copte, de la vient son erreur ; de la
vient aussi I'erreur dans laquelle ont ete entraines ceux qui, apres
lui, se sont occupes du manuscrit. Cette erreur est grave, el il est
a propos de la faire cesser.
Pour obtenir ce resultat, je dois tout d'abord citer le texte meme
de la subscription que le copiste a mise a la fin de I'Evangile selon
St. Matthieu. II y dit : 'W^O IC 'f JULeT"^.noi<L ^.pi UA.-
juLcnr I n^-VA.^H ^onoc rtTe ^^-oc liTc n^c n^^i nni
neiULtJOT"en ^.rtoK ^a. nn"^>,XentJopoc e^"^.qc^^.I
eeo2^ noTcipi nii,T"JULcyi. juLJULon^-X^o rtTe i" X^-nrp^.
eeoT^,£. m~e vmicyf ^.^K^. JUL<LK^.pi o-jto^ itTeq-
n^.^JULe^^ e£.oX^^- ncymi rtTe rtiKoX^.cic ^.JULKit
S^^.AJ^-Hrt ece cyconi XP^ "i'ow ^.n JipjL x^- Cette
subscription a ete traduite dans le MSS. meme, pent etre l'auteur de
la note surl'origine du MSS. : la ressemblance del'ecriture en est sans
doute une preuve, et la feuille de papier sur laquelle cette traduction
a ete ecrite au-dessus du texte recopie pour la circonstance a ete reliee
avec les feuillets du manuscrit lui-meme. Voici cette traduction qui
a ete la source de I'erreur ayant cours maintenant parmi les rares
personnes qui se sont occupees de la question, et la voici telle que
dans I'original latin-frangais-grec : "precor(?) /icTfu/o/o, souvenez-
vous de moi en charite, oVw? men Seigneur Jesus le Christ, il veuille
avoir pitie de moi et de vous, moi Zapita Leporos qui I'ecrivait . . . .*
moine de la laure sainte du grand abbe Macarius, qu'il me sauve ex
la honte des punitions. Amen, Amen, fiat, fiat, Christ, Christ, t
* Le traducteiir n'a rien mis au-dessus des mots qu'il coupe ainsi 060
novcipmi^. TJUL cLjjuL.
+ Les mots ^pl\ TOK ^.VIO ApJL 'j^ sont traduits : Christ le
saint cJ)nOTT"e ^pICTe. Le sigle ApX est fait par le traducteur JCfjL
au lieu de JtpjL qu'il y a dans Toriginal. Le traducteur n'a pas fait attention a la
boucle du signe medial qui est bien un p et non un '|~. D'ailleurs le sigle est
l)ien connu. Au-dessous de cette subscription il y en a unc autre en arabe que
238
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Je dois faire observer comma circonstance attenuante en faveur du
traducteur que la langue du scribe est fautive plus que de raison :
evidemment ce pauvre copiste ne savait plus qu'imparfaitement la
langue copte et il ecrivait comme il parlait. II n'est done pas etonnant
que des savants modernes eprouvent plus de peine a traduire de
semblables phrases, pleines d'incorrection, que lorsqu'il s'agit d'un
texte de la bonne epoque, ecrit par un moine qui savait parfaitement
sa langue. Quoiqu'il en soit, voici comment doit se traduire le
mauvais copte du scribe : "Je this priere : voici la repentance : faites
souvenir de moi avec charite afin que mon Seigneur Jesus Christ ait
pitie de moi avec vous, moi le malheureux qui ai ecrit, Theodore
(ou Theodose) de Pousiri, I'indigne moine de la laure sainte du
grand abbe Macaire, et qu'il me sauve de la honte des tourments :
amen, amen, ainsi soit-il, ainsi soit-il : ere des saints martyrs 605.
Cette subscription est parfaitement claire a I'exception des premiers
mots que je demande la permission d'expliquer.
Les manuscrits coptes contiennent une foule de semblables sub-
scriptions de moines qui avaient copie ou qui avaient simplement lu
un ouvrage. Ces subscriptions commencent par la formule ^i au
'f"i~^0 : Dieu, ou precor (je prie). Le scribe continuait par une
autre formule : IC 'fjULeX^.riOI^. ou simplement JULGT^^noi^.,
que je traduis par repentance, faute d'un mot mieux approprie a
la chose. Ce mot grec JULeT<Lnoi^ est employe en copte avec
des sens tout a fait differents : il signifie d'abord comme dans le grec
classique : repentir ou repentance ; il est ainsi employe dans la Pistis
Sophia lorsque I'^eon Sophia adresse ses chants de repentance a
I'Esprit Saint dont la lumiere I'a ranimee sans la tirer de ses douleurs.
II est aussi employe dans le sens chretien de confession, non pas de la
confession sacramentelle qui ne fut jamais en usage chez les Coptes,
mais de I'aveu ordinaire, sans intention sacramentelle. Enfin il est
voici : iJjCU^ ^\ ^l^Vsj'+Jl i»^3A^1 ^LUvll CJ '^^■^ t^J^ '-r^'V.
^j^\ ^_Jj^»Jt/«J^ vs^^3 ''^^^ ^ iS^^ ^'^. c"*-? iy^^^t ^'^ 15^*^.
ce qui doit traduire : 6 Seigneur, aie pitie du pecheur, du fautif, de celui qui
a besoin de ta misericorde, Gabriel fils de la laure de Mina (?) qui se prosterne
devant quiconque lira ces lettres afin que celui-ci demande pour lui le pardon et la
misericorde, et qu'a quiconque aura pour lui demande quelque chose, le semblable
soit fait et aux enfants du bapteme, ainsi soit-il.
239
Mak. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCFLEOLOGV. [1888.
employe dans le sens de genuflexion, et du copte il est passe en arabe
dans I'expression encore usitee : iyliaj^ (__?.!?, s'agenouiller. Ici,
il y a quelque peu des trois sens : le moine se repent de ses peches, il
les confesse publiquement et il s'agenouille devant ses freres, c'est-a-
dire ceux qui liront sa copie, et les supplie de prier pour lui. Au
fond, c'est la meme formule qui se trouve sur les steles funeraires des
temps pharaoniques : Vous tons qui entrez dans cette syringe et qui
lisez, hommes, femmes, vieillards, pretres, dites : Que lui soit faite
offrande de milliers de boeufs, etc. Les termes ont change, I'esprit
est reste le meme. Ces termes une fois expliques, il ne reste plus
aucun doute sur le sens de cette subscription, et les consequences
cjui en ressortent sontdes plusclaires : le manuscrit dont il s'agit a ^t^
ecrit par un moine nomme Theodore ou Theodose,* originaire de
Pousiri, c'est-a-dire, du village nomme actuellement Abusir, faisant
partie du couvent du grand Macaire, c'est-a-dire de Fun des couvents
de la vallee des Natrons, et cela en Fan des Martyrs 605, c'est-a-dire
en ajoutant a ce chiffre le nombre 284, qui designe I'annee d'ou date
cette ere, en I'annee du notre ere 889, vers la fin du neuvieme siecle.
Cette date qu'il est impossible de nier est grosse de conse-
quences. Je ne peux ici tirer toutes ces consequences qui m'entraine-
raient dans des developpements beaucoup trop longs, exigeant une
centaine de pages pour etre demontres ; mais je peux indiquer sur
quel ordre de faits et d'idees roulerait ce developpement. Le manu-
scrit est ecrit en lettres onciales : a premiere vue il parait splendide,
et il Test en effet jusqu'a un certain point ; mais quand on I'a bien
considere et qu'on s'en est occupe plusieurs semaines de suite on est
porte (je parle d'apres mon experience personnelle) a lui retirer une
l)artie de la beaute qu'on lui avait trop vitc attribuee. Malgre tout*
il reste acquis qu'a la fin du neuvieme siecle de notre ere les copistes
coptes se servaient encore de la ^belle onciale que nous admirons
en d'aulrcs manuscrits. Or, et c'est ici que la comparaison devient
interessante, cette onciale est sensiblement la meme que celle de cer"
tains manuscrits fort c^lebres auxquels on a attribue une tr^s-haute
antiquite. Cette ecriture est encore sensiblement la meme dans
certains manuscrits memphitiques de la Bibliotheque Vaticane qui
datent du dixieme et du onzieme si^clcs. En outre, ce type d'ecriture
se retrouve le meme dans la plupart des fragments des collections de
* L'abrdviation du texte n'impose pas de conclusion ; je regarde cependant le
11)111 de Theodore coiiime plus probaMi.-.
240
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iSS8.
parchemins Thebains deposes au musee de la Propagande a Rome, au
musee San Ferdinando a Naples, et a la Bibliotheque Nationale a
Paris. Presque aucun de ces manuscrits n'est date : au musee de la
Propagande un seul porte une date, c'est le numero XL du catalogue
de Zoega, et il contient des passages du livre de Josue et du livre de
Tobie, il date de Tan 519 des martyrs, c'est-a-dire, de notre ere 803.
Le musee de Naples n'a aucun fragment date. La Bibliotheque
Nationale de Paris est plus riche, elle a un nombre relativement
considerable de fragments dates et a ma connaissance la plus ancienne
date est du septieme siecle.* Dans tous ces manuscrits ayant date
I'ecriture est onciale : elle est aussi onciale dans le fragment de la
Propagande No. LXV du catalogue de Zoega public par Georgi :
cet auteur, en raison de I'ecriture, a attribue a ce fragment une date
qui le fait remonter au quatrieme siecle.t C'est sur la meme raison
que I'auteur de la note sur le MSS. de Lord Zouche s'est fonde pour
attribuer la meme antiquite au MSS. qui m'occupe. II faut en
rabattre : la beaute de I'ecriture et le type oncial ne sauraient etre une
preuve d'antiquite. Si du septieme au onzieme siecle I'emploi de ce
beau type fut frequent en Egypte, comme le montrent les quatre ou
cinq cents manuscrits maintenant au service de la science, il serait
temeraire de conclure a une plus haute antiquite pour des manuscrits
de meme type. Je ne pousserai pas plus loin ces considerations : je
me reserve de les presenter avec toute leur force dans le volume de
Prolegomhies qui ouvrira la publication critique des deux versions
egyptiennes du Nouveau-Testament a laquelle je travaille en ce
moment. II vaut mieux ici faire connaitre plus amplement notre
manuscrit.
Ce que je viens de dire ne saurait en diminuer, mais en accroitre
I'importance : ce qu'il me reste a dire en demontrera Tinappreciable
prix. Non seulement ce manuscrit est bien ecrit au point de vue
calligraphique ; mais encore la copie en est particulierement soignee,
les quelques fautes qui s'y sont glissees ont presque partout ete cor-
rigees, soit par le scribe lui-meme, soit par ses lecteurs. Au point de
vue de la grammaire copte il est d'un style tres-pur et je ne doute
pas que I'auteur de la compilation ne siit admirablement sa langue.
* Cette date se trouve a la fin d'un MSS. de la vie de St. Pakhome.
+ Voici le titre de la publication de Georgi : Fragtiiciittim Evangelii
S. Johannis Greco Copto Thebaicti/n sceuli IV in Veliterno Mtisaco Borgiano.
Romre, 17S9.
241
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.IiOLOGY. [i8S8.
Done pour les trop rares savants qui s'occupent de linguistique
egyptienne, Timportance du manuscrit est inappreciable : elle le
serait encore plus, si faire se pouvait, pour les Theologiens et les
Historiens des dogmes Chretiens. Malgre le titre du catalogue im-
prime, notre manuscrit ne renferme pas seulement des commentaires
sur les deux Evangiles de St. Mathieu et de St. Marc, mais sur les
quatre evangiles, comme I'a parfaitement observe Mgr. Lightfoot, dont
je suis heureux de constater la perspicacite et la science une fois
de plus."^
L'examen de la pagination du manuscrit suffisait a lui seul pour le
prouver, car cette pagination est quadruple ; t l'examen du texte
des Evangiles le demontre ensuite peremptoirement. Ce texte des
Evangiles n'est pas malheureusement suivi et ne peut en general
servir a une etude critique de cet texte, comme I'a encore observe
Mgr. Lightfoot. I La n'est done pas I'importance superieure du manu-
scrit : elle se trouve dans les commentaires dont I'auteur a entour^
le texte evangelique. Ces commentaires sont volumineux puisque
le manuscrit compte 254 feuillets dans son etat aetuel, e'est-a-dire 508
pages, et devait compter environ 300 feuillets dans son etat premier,
lis sont empruntes aux Peres les plus celebres de 1' Eglise grecque
en general, a St. Athanase, a St. Cyrille, a St. Epiphane de Chypre, a
St. Gregoire de Nazianze, a St. Basile de Cesaree, a St. Gregoire
de Nysse, a St. Jean Chrysostome, a Clement d'Alexandrie, a Eusebe
I'historien, a Tite de Bosra, a Simeon le Stylite (sans doute le saint si
connu) et surtout au patriarche Severe d'Antioche, etc. La part de
chacun des auteurs est fort inegale : ceux qui sont le plus souvent
mis a contribution sont St. Cyrille, St. Jean Chrysostome et le
patriarche Severe. Ce dernier personnage est peut-etre celui dont les
commentaires sont le plus souvent cites, et cela est d'autant plus
heureux que Ton ne possede en grec aucune de ses oeuvres, ou du
moins que pas une seule phrase n'en a ete publiee. Ce patriarche
cependant joua un moment un assez grand role en Syrie, quand il fut
patriarche d'Antioche ; il en joua un plus grand encore en Egypte
* Cf. Scrivener, Op. cit., p. 3S2.
t Quoique la pagination soit quadruple, le manuscrit etait un, comme en fait
foi la numeration des cahiers qui composaient le MSS. et dont le dernier porte
le No. 37.
X " But its value may not be very great for the Memphitic version, as it is
perhaps translated froui Greek." Cf. Scrivener, p. 384.
242
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
Oil il obtint une popularite vraiment extraordinaire, si bien qu'il s'est
forme autour de sa personne toute une serie de legendes que nous
possedons encore en partie. II sera done tres-curieux de connaitre
ce personnage par ses oeuvres memes, quand on ne le connait guere
que de nom et par un ou deux faits de sa vie.
Les oeuvres de Severe ne seront pas les seules que nous fera con-
naitre le manuscrit de Lord Zouche : le plus grand nombre des
passages des Peres grecs est inconnu. J'ai voulu en avoir le coeur net
pour St. Cyrille. On ne possede de ce grand docteur de I'eglise
alexandrine que deux commentaires complets sur St. Luc et St. Jean,
et certains fragments sur St. Mathieu. II devait avoir compose aussi
un commentaire sur St. Marc : le manuscrit copte en fait foi, car il
nous en a conserve plusieurs passages. II est probable en outre que
St. Cyrille avait fait sur St. Luc et St. Jean plusieurs series d'home-
lies, car les passages cites par la compilation cojJl:e, et que j'ai com-
pares aux passages correspondants des ceuvres publiees de St. Cyrille,
ne concordent que dans I'ensemble de la doctrine et nullement par
le detail : certaines donnees du texte copte et certaines explications
ne se retrouvent point dans les oeuvres grecques. C'est done de ce
cote encore toute une serie de passages des oeuvres des Peres grecs qui
nous a ete conservee par le manuscrit de Lord Zouche.
Mais il y a plus encore : les commentaires disparus d'Eusebe
nous sont rendus en partie ; de meme ceux de Tite de Bosra ou de
son homonyme, s'il ne s'agit pas de I'auteur du traite contre les
Manicheens; de meme un fragment de Simeon le Stylite. En outre,
ce qui est d'une valeur inappreciable en I'espece, le manuscrit
contient des passages empruntes a des Pbres anteniceens, a Clement
d'Alexandrie et a un certain Hippolyte qui est dit ordinairement
eveque de Rome, et qui n'est autre que le celebre Hippolyte de
Porto dont les oeuvres sont perdues. On s'est beaucoup preoccupe
a Rome dans ces derniers temps de recueillir tout les fragments
epars des Peres anteniceens : le manuscrit copte de Lord Zouche
peut etre d'une precieuse contribution a cette reconstitution d'ceuvres
qui sont d'autant plus interessantes qu'elles sont plus rares et qu'elles
nous permettent d'assister en quelque sorte a I'eclosion des idees
religieuses qui ont fait notre civilisation et qui regissent toujours une
bonne partie du monde terrestre.
On pourra voir dans nombre de fragments des Pbres, cites dans
cette sorte de Commentaire evangelique, une preoccupation presque
243
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [i8S8.
constante de I'un des plus difficiles problemes de rhermeneutique
sacree. En d'autres pays on se preoccupa de bonne heure d'etablir
une concordance, une Harmonic des Evangiles : I'essai de Tatien le
plus ancien, est aussi le plus celebre, malgre qu'il soit presque in-
connu. En Egypte, je ne crois pas qu'il y ait jamais eu pareille
tentative, du moins il n'en est pas reste une seule trace et Ton ne trouve
aucune allusion a semblable ecrit ; mais les problemes qui se sont
poses de nos jours a la critique scientifique, se posaient deja aux
Chretiens d'Egypte des le cinquieme siecle, comme d'ailleurs ils
s'etaient poses a Celse et a I'empereur Julien. II est curieux d'ob-
server que I'auteur copte qui reunit le commentaire entier et fabriqua
ce que Ton devait plus tard nommer une Catena, se preoccupa lui
aussi de ces problemes et qu'il les resolut a sa maniere, c'est-a-dire
en prenant dans les oeuvres des Peres les passages qui lui semblaient
les plus probants selon ses idees personnelles. Je ne voudrais pas
dire que les solutions proposees de ces difficiles problt;mes soient les
plus vraisemblables et surtout les plus scientifiques ; mais leurs idees
n'etaient pas les notres, ils ont eu leur systeme et, pour le juger,
rhistorien doit le connaitre.
Une derniere raison qui montrera le prix que Ton doit attacher
au manuscrit sur lequel j'appelle I'attention, c'est qu'il est unique.
Aucune bibliotheque publique en Europe n'en possede le semblable ;
je crois bien que je ne me tromperais guere en disant que sans doute
aucune bibliotheque privee n'en a le pareil. De meme en Egypte,
ni au patriarchat du Caire, ni dans les bibliothbques des couvents oil
j'ai eu acces, je n'ai rien trouv^ qui ait pu me donner une idee d'un
I)areil ouvrage. J'ai ete tres-surpris en lisant le catalogue de la
bibliotheque de Parham, encore plus en etudiant I'ouvrage. On
pourrait en inferer qu'il n'eut pas grand succes et fut du a I'initiative
personnelle d'un moine de Nitrie qui composa I'ouvrage pour son
usage particulier. Cette conclusion ainsi presentee serait trop ri-
goureuse. Que le commentaire, ou si Ton veut, la Catc'?ia, soit
I'oeuvre d'un moine, j'en suis persuade ; qu'il n'ait pas eu de vogue,
je le conteste, au moins pour ce qui regarde la valine de Nitrie.
Les passages fautifs de la copie ont ete presque tous corriges et par
des mains differentes, peut-etre quatre ou cinq : c'est bien une preuve
que le livre ^tait lu. En outre le volume de Lord Zouche n'est
qu'une copie d'un autre volume plus ancien : il y en a une raison
peremptoire. Si le scribe Thdodore avait lui-meme compose la
Catena et traduit en copte les oeuvres des Peres grecs, nous devrions
244
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
reconnaitre en lui run des plus purs auteurs copies ; mais il n'en est
point ainsi puisque ce meme scribe lorsqu'il ecrit et compose la
note qui donne la date du manuscrit commet plusieurs enormes
fautes en quelque lignes. L'ouvrage est done anterieur et avait eu
assez de vogue puisqu'on le recopiait. D'ailleurs quiconque a etudie
les usages des moines egyptiens, sait qu'une oeuvre reputee belle dans
un monastere etait bientot reputee belle dans un grand nombre.
Enfin si le manuscrit copte est unique,* je crois bien qu'il a un frere,
ou plutot un petit-fils arabe, ce qui prouverait que la vogue dura
assez longtemps pour qu'on ait senti le besoin de faire une traduction
arabe d'un ouvrage dont on commencait de ne plus comprendre
assez couramment I'idiome originel. En eftet la Bibliotheque Na-
tionale de Paris possede un manuscrit arabe taille sur la meme
patron que le manuscrit copte, ayant le meme but, employant le meme
methode ; et, ce qui est plus important, les auteurs cites sont les
memes. II est vrai qu'il ne s'agit que de I'evangile selon St. Jean
et que sur le recto du premier feuillet se trouve une priere en
karschoitni ; mais dans le manuscrit copte aussi chaque evangile
forme un tout a part, et la presence d'une priere en karschoiini
pourrait bien indiquer seulement que le manuscrit copie en Egypte
fut porte en Syrie, a moins que Ton ne prefere dire, ce qui serait
beaucoup plus en faveur de ma these et sans doute plus conforme a
la realite, qu'une priere en karschoimi ecrite sur un feuillet de manu-
scrit arabe ne doit pas etonner dans un monastere oli se trouvaient
des Syriens, et Ton ne doit pas oublier que le manuscrit copte
provient lui-meme du monastere des Syriens, que Ton y cultivait le
Syriaque, puisque ce monastere a tant fourni de MSS. syriaques aux
bibliotheques europeennes, et Ton ne saurait trouver surprenant
qu'un jour un moine syrien y ait ecrit une priere syriaque en carac-
teres arabes. D'ailleurs il y a un moyen bien simple de resoudre le
question si elle interesse quelqu'un, c'est de comparer les deux
manuscrits.
Pour me resumer et finir, je dois dire qua tous les points de
vue, linguistique, theologique, scripturaire et historique, le manu-
scrit de Lord Zouche est d'une grande valeur, et en etendant la parole
de Mgr. Lightfoot, que celui qui en ferait la publication raisonnee
* Depuis que j'ai ecrit ces considerations, j'ai retrouve parmi les parchemins
de la Bibliotheque Nationale un fragment d'un manuscrit semblable, en thebain.
+ Catal. des MSS. Arabes de la Bibl. Nat., p. 12, No. 99.
245
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iS88.
ne perdrait pas son temps et rendrait service aux etudes scientifiques
et religieuses. II appartient sans doute a I'Angleterre et aux savants
anglais de s'interesser a cette publication : le clerge anglais s'occupe,
plus que tout autre, des questions religieuses et des publications qui
ont trait aux premiers siecles de I'Eglise chretienne. Je souhaite
ardemment qu'il vienne a I'idee de quelqu'un de provoquer une
semblable publication, j'y contribuerais volontiers pour ma modeste
part ou m'en chargerais entierement. Sans doute les documents
theologiques ou scripturaires que contient le manuscrit ne changeront
pas la face de I'histoire, ils n'apporteront aucune nouvelle preuve du
genie des Peres grecs, ils ressemblent a toutes les autres oeuvres
connues ; mais je le repete, ils seront utiles en plusieurs points et de
plusieurs manieres. Et puis, il est toujours bon pour les generations
contemporaines de recueillir pieusement les oeuvres des temps passes,
surtout quand ces oeuvres ont exerce une telle influence sur notre
monde, notre civilisation et nos idees.
J'ose done esperer que ces quelques lignes trouveront un echo,
que des personnes aux quelles la Fortune, deesse des plus capricieuses
des les anciens temps, n'a pas menage ses dons s'interesseront a
Toeuvre et qu'un si precieux manuscrit pourra devenir I'objet des
etudes de tous ceux qui ont a coeur d'etudier les commencements du
Christianisme, ou les derniers restes de la langue la plus antique dont
nous ayons les monuments.
Paris : 7 Fevrier, 1888.
246
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
PRONOMINAL FORMS IN EGYPTIAN.
By p. le p. Renouf (^President).
Read Tih February, 1888.
The resemblance between certain Egyptian personal pronouns
and the corresponding ones in Hebrew and other Semitic languages
has long been remarked. Gesenius when first noticing the fact
argued that the Egyptians must have borrowed the pronouns which
are common to the two systems. But his knowledge at that time
was necessarily limited to Coptic forms, and when the older
Egyptian forms were discovered he saw at once that the argument
he had used * might be employed in the opposite direction. In his
later writings, therefore, he simply confined himself to the statement
of what he considered a very remarkable fact. Many later scholars,
however, some of them of considerable name and authority, have
not only asserted the original identity of the two systems of pro-
nouns, but inferred the existence of a language from which the
Egyptian and the Semitic were derived. Undeterred by the protests
of Pott and Ewald and the wise cautions of Renan, some scholars
still continue to give the name of sub-Semitic to a number of
dialects in North Africa, and to foster the belief that " the parent of
the sub-Semitic idioms was a sister of the parent Semitic speech."
"While the vocabularies," according to these scholars, "are for
the most part (as in old Egyptian) essentially non-Semitic, the
grammars — including the pronouns and in some measure the
numerals — must clearly be referred to the Semitic family."
I am not going to discuss speculations which I believe to be
utterly unsound, but the analysis which I propose to give of the
pronominal forms of the ancient Egyptian language will, I hope,
contribute to the solution of what at first sight appears to be a
very puzzling phenomenon — the apparent identity between certain
Semitic and Egyptian pronouns. The phenomenon is only puzzling
* " Stimmt hier unci in der zweiten Person das Koptische uberein [anok ich,
antu du) welche Formen aber eher von den Semiten zu den Aegyptern gekommen
seyn mogen, da sie in die Analogic der iibrigen Personen und die Bildung des
Pronomen eingreifen." Ausfiirl. Lehrgebdude, 1S17, p. 200.
247
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [iSSS.
when a narrow view is taken of it. If, instead of comparing a
few Egyptian personal ]n-onouns with their equivalents in Hebrew,
Arabic, or Assyrian, the whole system of pronominal forms is looked
at and studied, not only in the languages immediately concerned,
but in the Indo-European and other families of speech, it will be
seen upon what very insufficient grounds many scholars have
hitherto founded their conclusions.
They do not seem to be aware that in languages utterly uncon-
nected, Pronominal Forms often resemble each other, both in sound
and in significance,* and that it would be nearly as reasonable to
draw inferences from the resemblance between the Interjections of
two languages. Interjections, as being mere exclamations expressive
of feeling, are by many scholars not counted as words, properly
speaking. Pronominal roots, which in their first significance merely
point to an object in space, and " in their primitive form and
intention are addressed to the senses ratlier than to the intellect," f
are only one step removed from the Interjections. | Professor
Max j\Iuller§ sees no reason why we should not "accept them as
real survivals of a period of speech during which pantomime,
gesture, pointing with the fingers to actual things, were still indis-
jjensable ingredients of all conversation." They have, however,
so completely penetrated and pervaded the whole structure of
language, and particularly of Semitic and Indo-European speech,
that there is not a single word in any language of these families
which has not once had at least one of these pronominal forms
bound up with it.
The nature of these demonstratives and their extreme importance
in the structure of language can best be learnt from the study of
* M. Ilalevy speaking of Assyriologists {Jomnal Asiatique, 1874, p. 474),
says : " lis semblent oublier iin fait etabli depuis longtemps par la linguistique,
c'est que les families de langues les plus diverses montrent souvent una grande
similitude dans les pronoms. II serait facile de retrouver dans les langues
africaines, malaises, et papoues toute la seric des pronoms qu'on signale dans
I'accadien. Quelle est la valeur de pareilles comparaisons ? Elle est absolument
nulle, et s'evanouit au moindre examen." In reply to this, M. Lenormant
(Laitgue Primitive de la Chaldce, p. 165) never dreams of denying the force of the
argument if it were applicable to the case in point, liut maintains that RI. Halevy
has misunderstood what is really asserted by Assyriologists.
t Max Miiller, Science of Tlioiight , p. 221.
X Ewald, Ausfiirl. hebr. SpL, p. 258.
§ Ubi supra, p. 554.
248
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iSS8.
Indo-European comparative grammar ; not only because the many
different languages of this family shed light upon each other, but
because a vast amount of thought and learning has, for more than
half a century, been devoted to the subject by the ablest philologists.
In presenting a short summary of the results of Indo-European
science on this matter, I shall not, I hope, be understood to imply
that what has taken place in Sanskrit, Zend, or Lithuanian must
necessarily have taken place in Egyptian any more than in Chinese.
But if, as a matter of fact, it can be shown that, as far as the nature
of a language allows which has neither declensions of nouns nor
conjugation of verbs, the same phenomena occur in Egyptian as in
Sanskrit or Zend, I shall have accomplished a useful task.
This then is what we learn from the study of Indo-European
speech.*
The demonstrative roots are few in number and of the most
rudimentary structure : short syllables such as a, /, ti, ma, va, fia,
ka, fa. Their use was simply to point to an object in space, — to
call attention to the person or thing spoken of. It has gradually
become the conviction of scholars that it is a mistake to enquire
after the special primitive meaning and function of each of them.
They must have originally been synonymous ; no shade of difference
in meaning or function can be pointed out till a comparatively late
period of language. The simple truth was admitted from the first
l)y Bopp, that one demonstrative root is susceptible of indicating
the most varied relations of place. t Several such roots must
necessarily be synonymous.
* See M. Bieal in the admirable introductions to the French translation of
Bopp's Comparative Grammar, Vol. II, p. xxiv, and Vol. IV, p. i, and following.
I have only quite recently had my attention called (by M. Miiller's Scieiice of
Language, pp. 224 and 228) to M. Alf. Dutens' Essai sur Vorigine des cxposants
casuels en Sanscrit, in which I was agreeably surprised to find, not Ludwig's fierce
attacks upon "agglutination" but, what seems to me the true theory of agglutina-
tion of pronominal forms set forth in the clearest and most intelligible language.
I most earnestly recommend the study of this book to Egyptologists, as part of
their scientific training.
+ " Die verschiedensten Ortsbeziehungen sind geeignet durch einen und
denselben Demonstrativstamm ausgedriickt zu werden." Ueber einige De?iionstro-
tivstdmme, p. 9. He refers in evidence of this to K. G. Schmidt's tract De
■brcEpositionibus gracis. In process of time, what Benfey thought (G. W. Lex.,
p. 152) of the pronominal stems of the third person has been extended to all stems
of the same nature. " Vieles darauf hinweist, das die Pronominalstamme der
dritten Person urspriinglich bloss den Begriff der Bezeichnung an und fur sich
hatten und erst nach ttnd nach durch den Gcbranch spccialisii't ivurdcn.'^
249 Y
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIISLICAL ARCH.KOLOGV. [1888.
Their function of calling attention to a person or thing led to
their beino- joined as suffixes to attributive or predicative roots.
The suffi.K became the subject of which the meaning implied in the
root was predicated. A glance, however, at the Indo-European
verbs or nouns detects the presence in innumerable instances of
more than one suffix attached to an attributive root in a single word.
The same tendency which in our days leads men to give force to
their words in such expressions as "this here," "that there," "ce-ci,"
"ce-la" "ce-lui-la," led to a vast number of combinations between
the primitive demonstrative roots. A root might be doubled, as
ma-ma, or sa-sa apocopated to sas, or several roots might be joined
to the first, as ka-da, ta-da, ya-da, sa-da, iu-hhya-ma apocopated to
tiibhyam. It is in this way, most probably, that new series of
suffixes such as aim, tra, van, md?m, ant, vant, which form such
important features in the structure of Indo-European grammar, have
come into existence.
Some of the composite forms I have quoted present the fact,
so instructive for our present purpose, of the formation of inde-
pendent personal pronouns. It is indeed from the rudimentary
demonstrative roots that all the true primitive pronouns, adverbs,
and prepositions derive their origin.
It is no argument against this statement that certain words used
in our languages as pronouns, prepositions, and adverbs, and also
certain suffixes have been traced to attributive roots.* Languages
which are so developed as to admit of whole sentences called
adverbial or prepositional clauses easily give birth to expressions
like 'because,' ' secundum,' 'in obedience to,' which are of a more
mixed nature than the primitive demonstrative forms, or derive their
prepositional or adverbial force from the presence of demonstrative
elements. The Indo-European languages again largely admit of
composition between attributive roots, and a second root may
therefore assume the appearance of a suffix to that to which it is
joined. Of the part which analogy plays in multiplying words and
furms it is needless to speak.
Two of the most eminent Semitic scholars, Ewald and Dillmann,
have put forth a doctrine on the pronominal forms substantially
* This ha.s always been acknowledged. See Bix'al, ubi supra, IV, p. xi.x, and
an excellent note of M. Dutcns', Essai, p. viii.
250
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS, [1888.
identical to that held in the Indo-European school, and Ewald
specially prides himself* on having carefully taught it in all his
writings.
It may be well at this point to show how in the Semitic as in
Indo-European languages, the demonstrative roots manifest the
tendency to combination. In Arabic we have the demonstrative
particle \j da (properly Qa) around which a number of other particles
are grouped, forming fresh words; for instance? ^\^ dd-ka,
tiJJ^i da-li-ka, cJ^lj^J dd-ni-H-ka, Ujs ha-dd, ^3,,(,s, ha-ka-dd,
CJ1jIj& hd-dd-ka^ ^'^\ el-Ia-dy, ^^l>^^ el-Ia-dl-na. This last
pronoun is the same as the Hebrew Hf vTl hal-la-zeh. In modern
V T ~
popular Arabic dd is the most common demonstrative pronoun, and
its combinations with other pronouns are like those in the older
language, dik/ia, dtckhatnoa, dikhaija, keda, keda/ik, dol {= da + ??/),
d-di, ddj', ddlnte, etc. If we start with another demonstrative \^
an, we come to a new series of compounds, li-an, al-ld (= an-Id),
li-al-ld, ke-an with suffixes, e.g., ke-ifi-na-hu-md.
In one respect Semitic grammar is more instructive than Indo-
European in establishing a distinction between predicative and
pronominal roots.
True composition is impossible between predicative roots in
Semitic languages. t It is extremely common in Indo-European
languages, and must already have existed before the separation of
the different branches. This is evident from the aorist and the
future tenses of the primitive verb, in each of which two predicative
stems are so united as to form a new stem.
* See td}i supra, note 4. In his text he says admirably : " Es ist bewun-
derungswiirdig zu sehen wie die wenigen urwurzehi welche sich uns bei scharferer
untersuchung ergeben, durch verstarkung und abschw'achung zusammensezung und
wieder vereinfachung und sonstigen lautwechsel eine so mannichfache bildung
durchlaufen, dass sie sowohl die schon ansich vielen unterschiede des sinnlichen
raumes als diese noch zahlreichern geistigeren bedeutungen bis aufs feinste anzeigen
konnen. "
t " Wortzusammensezung im Sinne des Mittellandischen ist dem Semitischen
grundsazlich unmoglich." Ewald, ubi supra, p. 655.
251 Y 2
Mar. 6]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1 888.
In this respect Egyptian resembles Semitic. Real composition of
predicative or attributive roots is as impossible in one as in the other.
Se?i-ta, literally ' kiss earth,' may be considered as an Egyptian verb
signifying ' adore,' but the moment we wish to say ' I adore,' ' he
adores,' a pronominal sutiix intervenes, and ta appears as a second
word.
The pronominal or demonstrative elements in Egyptian are as
follows : —
(].. qq. ^
J>a, U\\ pa, D
///,
fa.
^\ e/u, /vwvAA eti,
AAAA/W
jmi, Ik na, D \:> mi.
ka,
^ ku.
ta, J [J ta, ^^ ///.
The list might be reduced to even smaller dimensions, because
some of the forms which differ in vocalisation can be proved to have
been originally one. ^\^ em and aaa/wv en have a vocalic anlaut like
the Coptic JUL and ft, but they are demonstrably connected with
md (and U [I ma) and "^ na respectively.
The consonantal endings,/ k, s, and /, are apocopated forms of
syllables representing words, No one can say of the Egyptian forms,
what some say of the Indo-European, that they are "rein hypo-
thetische gebilde." ^^ 'v\. fa, indeed, has not yet been found as a
separate word, but its compounds ^^ pcfa (otherwise written
D
£5:2 with the determinative of direction)
tefa and
^-j^ nefa arc in frequent use. All the other forms are
well kliown words, current at some time or other in Egyjjtian speech.
The reduplications and combinations of these forms are also well
252
Mar. 6] TROCEEDINGS. [1888.
known. (1 1 -^^^zz^ as-ku, [1 I ^^ as-tji, (often written l"^-:i:^, I 2=^,
without the vowels.) \\ I ^ ^ M7i as-tu-a, ^ ^ ci ^ tu-tu,
\^ em-tii-tu, a^ v\ ^[11 tu-tu-as, v\ v\ iiia-ka,
(often written Y\A ^- ^ ma-ka or 7/ia-ku) \\\ v\ VQi ina-kii-a.
AAAA/VV
e?i-tii-f, \\ te-n-a or ^ V RjV te-7i-7iu.
er-ma, <zr> D y\ U^ er-te-n-nu are famihar to
all Egyptologists, though they may not always have recognized
the peculiar formation of these pronouns. The demonstrative
Ax' ^^v pa, generally used as the article, but also found with quite
different functions, joins to itself another demonstrative element [|[1 /,
and to the new stem A^ ^^^ [III pa-i thus formed, other demon-
stratives representing the three persons singular and plural are added,
forming the series of Possessive Pronouns /c/-/-^ /c?-/-/',/(7-/;/j and
the rest, masculine and feminine.
It is in precisely the same way that in the Aramaic languages the
demonstrative "if forms a new stem ~i''l by the addition of the
particle "i, and that from this new stem the Possessive Pronouns
arise by the addition of personal suffixes. Pa-i-d " my," hke di-l-i
means, " that — (which is) to — this one."
It must be insisted upon that all the forms in our list are radically
and essentially Demonstrative, whatever they may be called in
grammars, which are made for popular use, and follow the terminology
of the old Latin and Greek school-grammars. They may practically
l)e definite articles, prepositions, adverbs, or conjunctions, according
to the popular notions, but their original function was simply to point
to the object with reference to its position in space and its relation
to the speaker.
Such words readily adopt themselves to a variety of uses.
Our English word 'that' is a de7nonstrative when I say '■that man,'
a relative, in 'the man that I see,' a conjunction in 'I tell you tJiat
I see him,' an adverb in "-that I should live to see it ! " But this is
no peculiarity of the English language. The same kind of thing may
253
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [iSS8.
be found in every Indo-European language from Sanskrit to French,
in every Semitic dialect and in countless other branches of speech.
The uses of K\ em as a preposition, conjunction, and pro-
hibitive adverb have long been known. The ancient texts
published by Maspero are full of passages which exhibit its
purely demonstrative character ; ^^^ f ^^ ^ P ] si ^ ^^'^ Unas i,
%\ 1 ^ 11 [1 em SIC /, Tx A [1 (1 ejn i-nef, ' here cometh
Unas,' 'it is he coming,' 'here he cometh.' In phrases like
these ^ em and ^V—Xi maka (or ma-hi) are used indifferently
and synonymously. In the same way [I V\ aaa^aa cim-ten^ ' you,'
is equivalent to ^ v\ /v^ md-ka-ten.
It has unfortunately been the habit of some most distinguished
Egyptologists to speak of )^^/«, D^ pu, c^\ tu, D^ mc,
and even of [| || as, as verbs,* on the ground that these words occur
in places where our modern languages use the verb " to be " ! t
The enunciation of the major premiss of this argument would at
once disclose its fallaciousness. The verb 'to be' in the sense
here postulated is a comparatively modern conception. 'To have'
and 'to be ' have grown to be necessary parts of our present
forms of speech. But it was not so from the beginning. There
are innumerable languages without these verbs. Semitic languages
are to this day without a verb ' to have,' and it was only by loss of
their physical signification thnt XVT\i or ^, came to mean 'be.
Our own 'be' originally signified 'grow,' and was not then
serviceable as a copula. All languages at first grew up without
feeling the need of a verb as copula to connect subject and
predicate. '• Die Mittelliindischen sprachen," says Ewald,J "haben
fiir den fall dass die aussage in keinen vollkommern verbum besteht,
ziemlich friih das verbum seyni seine stelle ersezn und so zur
* Writers who so readily assume the existence o^ verbs, should be compelled to
read Schleicher's Untersclieidung von Norieii und Verlmni.
+ One singular consequence of this doctrine is that two Egj-ptian equivalents
of the verb 'to be' (0 | Q ^ a.f//() Ijcing put together jjroduce an interro-
gative pronoun.
X Ausf. heb. SpJi., § 297.
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iSSS.
blossen copula des sazes werden lassen : die Semiten kennen einen
solchen gebrauch eigentlich nochnicht, und sind auch hierin viel
einfacher geblieben.'
" The Arabic language, like the Hebrew and Syriac," says
Professor Wright,* " has no abstract or substantive verb to unite the
predicate to the subject of a nominal sentence."
" Une autre particularite du hongrois," says an authority learned
in quite a different family of languages,! " est encore le manque
absolu du verbe etre (copula) dans les phrases ou ce verbe sert a la
liaison du sujet et de son attribut, absolument comme dans les
langues semitiques."
The use of the Semitic demonstrative /?//, as a sort of substitute
for a copula, ought at least to have served as a warning not to
include among verbs such Egyptian words as/r?, /;/, tu, nii, and an.
Demonstratives involve the concept of ' be ' J quite as much as
verbs whose true significations are 'breathe,' 'grow,' 'dwell,' 'turn,'
' fall,' ' fix,' ' stand,' &c.
Let us now examine the phonetic character of the Egyptian
Demonstratives.
Every one of the forms on the list is not only monosyllabic but
admits of one consonant only in addition to the vowel. A few
pronouns in which two consonants appear are compound forms ;
such as pe-fa, te-fa, ne-fa, se-n, se-t, in each of which the component
elements are easily recognized.
The sounds of these elementary pronouns are noteworthy. The
only consonants are/, _/, the liquids w, n, and r, s, k, and /. The
table excludes /', the three aspirates VU h, | //, and O x, the lingual
sibilant t—^r-i s, two of the k sounds, S k, and ^ q, and two of the
/ sounds, c=^^ /, and '^-^^ t'.
This shows that ]) t'es with all its personal forms belongs to
quite a different formation. It corresponds to our "self," the
Gothic silba, which is a contraction of sin Up " his body."
* Arabic Grammar, § 122.
+ Ujfalvy, Langne Magyare, p. 37.
X M. de Rouge himself {direst. § 191, note) says of the sense of certain
pronouns, " Imphquant, comme tous les pronoms personnels, I'idee du xerht clre.
II en est de meme de -IH, etc., dans toutes les branches des langues semitiques."
255
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
It is interesting to observe the parallel between our table and
that drawn up by Grassmann when treating of the primitive pre-
positions of the Indo-European family, and his observation — *
" Es fehlen also die harten aspiraten, die gaum-und zungen
lautc, von den kehlbuchstaben erscheint nur k, es fehlen ausserdem
/', /, c, s, //, welche sich anderweitig als spiiteren ursprungs erweisen."
\Vith regard to the vowels it has been noticed that a, the
long a, occurs but once,t that the forms in 7i are generally doublets of
forms in a, and that the suffix q[| i is the solitary form in Avhich the
vowel / occurs. There are no such suffixes as ki^fi^ti. I have long
since % expressed my conviction that it is an error to look upon the
sign N\ as phonetically representing the vowel /. The sign is
ideographic, and was unknown in the first ages of hieroglyphic
writing. It was afterwards used for various purposes ; that of
standing for a vowel (not necessarily /) being only one of them.
The most ancient texts write —
The following line (61) from the Pyramid of Teta contains the
masculine and feminine forms of the relative :
A D
(Miy
heqer pen en fa e/n 'x.at ent Teta abt ten
eiitiit em sept Teta.
The three forms consisting of a single vowel, Lj ^, (j L| /, _p ?/,
cin by means of proper names be traced back as suffixes to a period
anterior to the most ancient monuments. M. Maspero long ago §
* Zcitschr.f. vcrgl. Sprachf., XXIII, p. 564.
t In "^g^, which, however, is often written simply ^; one of the best
proofs that Q is not a consonant foolishly identified with V ; which is a
purely Semitic utterance, unpronoimceable by Turks, Persians and Hindus who
use the Arabic alphabet.
X Proceedings of Soc. of Bihl. Arch., 1S82, p. 68. I have never ]-)ublished
the "onslaught" there referred to, which is quite unnecessary after Dr. Stern's
onslaught in the Zeitschrift of 1884, pp. 58-78.
§ Melanges d'Arc/u'ologie, p. 139. Note.
256
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
drew attention to the fact that such names as (j J (j ab-a, fl D t|
ap-a, jl ^AAAAA J [| senh-a and .^^[j iner-a were variants of Q J f| Q
ab-i, ij □ ij (| (ip-i-i P '^'^^^'^ W\ senb-i and ^^^tj \ mer-i, and that
these forms in / have a grammatical force. The inference which he
draws, namely that ij = [| [I, and was pronounced /, overlooks the
no less important co-existence of the forms Lj J _^ ab-ti, 0 D p
ap-tt, [1 AAAAAA J "p senb-u and ^^^ _^ ?>ier-it. The ancient funereal
inscriptions prove that [1 ^®tl[l ^/wx-' and (1 -^ ® ^^ dnix-i'
were absolutely synonymous. M. de Rouge observes : " Dans les
textes antiques surtout, on trouve parfois la voyelle ^ en variante
de 1] l] comme finale du participe actif." (In my own theory of the
language participles do not exist in Egyptian.)
The real truth is the suffixes a, /, and ?/, are but three forms of
one pronoun a. The difference between the forms is purely
phonetic. These vowel changes are familiar to students of the
Science of Language ; a is said to be sharpened to /, and obscured
to u. How far these terms of 'weakening,' 'sharpening,' and
' obscuration ' express correct philological views matters not to our
present purpose. They are technical terms used in the School of
Bopp to indicate phenomena which exist as undoubtedly in Egyptian
as in other languages.
The three suffixes of Avhich we have been speaking were
originally synonymous. But in process of time a differentiation
took place ; a was used almost exclusively as the suffix of the first
person ; / was principally employed in what M. de Rouge calls the
participial use, but in some others also, and ?/ discharged other
functions.* The plurals of masculine nouns and adjectives seem
to have been expressed by a repetition or combination of these
suffixes, ///, 7(11, and perhaps ui.
The pronoun a, which I do not hesitate to identify with the suffix,
occurs perhaps most frequently as a relative in the form [| ^ «.
But the relative sense is derived from the demonstrative, which
survives in such expressions as (| ^ '^^ ^ ^y( ^^ a-nef em
* As I am only discussing a question of morphology it is unnecessary to enter
into important details which are not essential to the point.
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [iS88.
hat-ef, "this was in his mind";
t'et-nef, " ihat is what she said to him," and perhaps in the Coptic
^. nexpOC Xe, " Peter said."
The suffixes \\ta and c p tu stand in the same relation to each
other as I] a and _p u. All the verbal forms which in the ancient
texts ended in tii are replaced in later texts by forms in ///. In some
documents both forms are found, but this probably arises in great
part, in the Book of the Dead for instance, from following texts of
different dates. In the language itself all words did not change
their form at once, and two forms of the same word may continue
for a long time to exist side by side.
But the vowel was " obscured " at an early period in the pronoun
itself as a separate word, ^ _p iit, which is known with varied uses of
which I shall presently speak.
■The original identity of ta and /// is certain. It cannot be proved
with the same certainty that c^ _^ ta was another form of the same
pronoun, but the analogy of ^. ^_^/^ D_p//^* and "^^^^^^^^^ ka
-• o _p ku makes this supposition very probable. In the gradual
differentiation of the forms of the same demonstrative, ta would be
reserved as a demonstrative article, ta for suffixes, tu for other
purposes.
The suffixes assigned in our Grammars to the second and third
persons singular are : —
2nd person v_^ k masc. c^ t femin.
3rd „ ^^_ „ -^^ i-
These are all apocopated forms belonging to pronouns, none of
which are tied to any definite person or gender. The full form
v_^ ^ hi appears in the texts of the Pyramids.
Qy_ 0,^^' ^ d-Zid-rcku, rise up, thou, Pepi I, 117.
5 V ^% ^^ dp-kii Hern, Horus judgeth thee, /A, t^t^-
^ ^ JI^ ''^^^^ ^ X^^'tn-ku, thy throne, //''., 81.
* A very curious, but by no means the only, instance of the identification of
these two pronouns is the interrogative form written U | D y{^ o.s-pu, in the
Luqsor text of Pentaur, and 1] j ^^^ V^ as-pa in the Karnak text. See de Rouge
C lire St., § 231.
258
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iSSS.
In these texts and many later ones ^i^^ or g > p> /// appears
for the second person.*
^ S ^c-^ s=5 _^ _^^ 'YT\ ('p-ff-f'i W(? iiutaru, " he reckons
thee among the gods."
su estu SH d}-ex tu, " behold thou knowest him, behold he knoweth
thee." Unas, 463, etc.
In the pyramid of king Teta (211 and following lines) we read
P ^=^3:^ es-ku {= Coptic ICXe) instead of es-fu, in this very passage,
which also serves to show a fact which ought never to have been
doubted, that 4 _p is the subject as well as the object of a verbal
action. It is simply idle to talk of accusative forms in such a
language as the Egyptian.
But neither ^crr^p norc^p, nor their apocopated ^^z^ and ^
can be considered as bound to the second person. In our grammars
^ — ^ y or -^—^ is recognized as one of the forms of the first person?
and numerous decisive instances can be quoted in proof ^ ^ on the
other hand was recognized by M. de Rouge in his first great work
as an indefinite pronoun. This was however only one of its many
uses. t=^^ ///, originally () ij /«: (perhaps ^^ ^n), is really the
dominant Demonstrative, which shows itself everywhere in ancient
Egyptian.
Combined with aaaaaa en it gives rise to the relatives ] [] en^d
J AftAAftA TL ., AAAAAA. i • i
and ^ ]g> enfu (later ^ \J, and with — n_^ an to the negative
^■"^ afu. We have in these two words (in Coptic GT and ^t)
the nearest approach to flexion which can be quoted from old
Egyptian ; the nasal letter in the first root of these words being
assimilated to the dental of the second.
Combined with the suffixes of the different persons, personal
pronouns are formed : -^ ^^ ^ '^^ ll V ^ ^"'^' ■'•' T ^ ^'^'^'
thou, ^ Jf tii-f, he, c^ V\ tit-n, we, etc.
* "^ ^, S > [|j H n S i^ \ ersetzen mitunter das Pronomen der 2ten
Person des Singulars." Brugsch, Gram., p. 13.
259
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iSSS.
A second and a third series of personal pronouns are formed by
prefixing (i) J^— ^.^^. |^^^^ em-tu-a, \cJ^^=^ em-tu-k,
etc., or (2) ^^^/wv — e.g. v nt ^'^-^^^-^^ Q ^ en-tu-k ^ "2 en-
fii-f, etc.
A fourth series prefixes both ^ and -wvaaa — ^,^.^ ^ ^ (g '^
e?n-en-fi(-a, ^ ^ (g v ^ ej?i-e?i-tic-k, _^ ^ (o ^.-^ etn-efi-tii-j.
These four series by no means exhaust the hst of personal
pronouns. The demonstrative compound ^ ,~^ ^ md-ka, or
^ <;_^ _g> md-ku, is a base from which by combinations with
sufifixes a fifth series is formed : ^ •^^ V '^ j/id-kii-d, I,
l^^^^c.^ vid-ka-tu, thou (m.), (also written ^ ^^),
k^^^^^' feminine; |^^7,7 md-ka~ji, we, ^^^\;;^
iiiu-ka-se-?i, they.
]\r. de Rouge,* after quoting several texts in which these
pronouns occur, says, " il est aise de voir que dans tous ces passages
le sens personnel est seul applicable." He is quite right in this
remark, which has, however, been occasioned by the confusion of
the pronominal compound '^ ^-^ -^ ^ md-ka with the predicative
=^ V ^ /ndk, signifying ' protection,' which is, etymologically, quite
a different word.
The first person singular is also represented by pronouns formed
from other bases. We find !^^ en-ne-k. in which the v * is the
well known ka or ku., M^ or tk M7i nu-d^ and the more common
.^^^ nu-k., frequently strengthened by an initial syllable [j ^^-^ d-mt-k.
This last word is formed from three perfectly well known primitive
demonstratives of the ancient Egyptian language, just as our own
pronoun I, or the Greek e-/;..'' (originally e^itcv) can be traced like
the Sanskrit a/jam to a combination of the three demonstratives
a ga ma. \
* Chrcst., § 191.
t " Die Sylbe ^ ha von alid-m halte ich jetzt in Ubereinstimmung mit Benfey
fiir die mit dem Stamme a verwachsene, sonst tonlose Partikel ha
welche, wie das verwandte griech. 7?, dor. aol. 7a, gem an Pronomina sich
anschliesst." Bopp, Vergl. Gram. (1870), II, p. 102, note. Cf. Fick, Wortcrbuch,
I, 3, and Curtius' Grundzilge, 525. To certain readers I recommend Breal's
remark: "La syllabe ma, qui designe le moi, fait partie integrante du theme
compose ?-w^a, 'celui-ci.' La syllabe «, que Bopp reconnait avec raison dans le
nominatifrt-Z/rt-w, ' je,' fournit aussi le premier element de a-ya-m, ' ille.' " Bopp,
Or. {French Tr.), Ill, xxiv.
260
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
It is most interesting to note that M. de Rouge having found
authentic proofs of the existence of the plural forms f ^ ^ ] and
a 'wvw 1^ j.jgj-j|.|y infei-j-ed the existence of '^'^ ^ |, but was unable
to refer to any instance. The forms <=^ ^ and ^ '^ is,^^ might
have put him on the right track. "'"^ ^k i exists and is found under
AA/V^'^^
the well-known form of ^ ^M , in which n\ stands for v
/\ftAA^A I ( ^*^ I I [^ JJJ I _Zj
'^ \\ I , entu, TCI ovTci, as opposed to V\ l , (^fl(, -ra ju}) ovra,
is not a relative expression. The relative sense of ^^ is, like in
all similar cases, derived from the demonstrative, and admirably
illustrates the doctrine of ApoUonios Dyscolos, the ' princeps gram-
maticorum' ; Ilaaa au-ivwuta i) ceiKTiKij effTiv i) di/cK^opiicij, ce'i^iv being
the primitive function of all pronouns;* uva(/)opd itself, which has
reference to objects already named, being a ce't^if ~ov vod, as dis-
tinguished from the cel^i^ -rij-i o^eic9. The Egyptian , ]i fi ,
or ^v\ corresponds to the demonstrative oi in Homeric Greek
(ov r/dj) devTcno? ijXOev, o r^cip ^/cpai tari Oauoi^Twv^, or in the Platonic
/} c OS, as well as to its secondary use as a relative pronoun. The
addition of suffixes, however, alone determines the person as I, thou,
he, etc.
In tabular form the Egyptian personal pronouns appear as
follow : —
1 masc. sing — fu-d, em-tu-a^ en-tu-a, em-en-tii-a, 7/ia-ku-d,
2 ,, ,, tu-k, efu-fii-k, en-tu-k, em-en-tu-k, md-ka-tu,
3 ,, ,, tu-f^ em- til -f^ en- til- f^ em-en-tu-f^ etc.
etc. etc. etc. etc.
together with ^;/-«<?-/^, nii-d, 7iu-k, a-;///!-/C', for ist pers. sing.
„ ,, tu for 2nd person.
„ „ su, set for 3rd person.
* See Windisch's important " Untersuchungen iiber dem Urspriing des
Relativpronomens in den indogermanischen Sprachen," in G. Curtius' Studien
zur griechischen utid lateinischen Grammatik, II, 201 — 419. Dr. Windisch has
repeatedly occasion to allude to " wie grosse Neigung die Pronomina zu immer
neuen und neuen Zusammensetzungen haben, und [wie] die Weiterbildung bald
nach vorn, bald nach hinten vor sich geht," p. 276.
261
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILLOLOGY. [1888.
Now when it is asserted that the Egyptian pronouns clearly belong
to the Semitic family, I should say that such an assertion is de-
monstrably false, and that it could only have been suggested by
the striking resemblance of the Hebrew ^32i^ to a-nu-k ; a word,
however, whose origin, formation, and kinship are as purely Egyptian
as any word in the vocabulary.
I do not suppose that any one who has any knowledge, I will
not say of the ancient Indo-European languages, but of French or
Italian, will set down as characteristic of Semitic origin the possession
of tu as a pronoun of the second person, and sii as a pronoun of the
third.
The pronouns arranged in series defy all attacks upon their
origin. No one has yet ventured to assert that any one pronoun in
the first, second, fourth, or fifth series has the slightest resemblance
to a Semitic pronoun. It is only some pronouns of the third series
which are claimed as Semitic. Among the pronouns of the singular
number en-tu-k is supposed to correspond to the Semitic nita ;
importance, of course, being attached to the suffix k, which, as a
suffix of nouns in the Semitic languages, represents the second
person singular. But the utmost that could be made out in this
case, after all, is that the Egyptian suffixes are Semitic. The eii-tu
has no necessary connection with the k or with a second person
singular. It runs through the whole series of which it is the base,
and beyond it. To question its purely Egyptian origin is about as
reasonable as to doubt the German origin of such a word as
Wahlvcni'andscliaftcn*
To turn the tables. The Egyptian has no pronoun of the second
person singular like aiita or «;///, nor of the third like //// or hi. No
* Benfey says with reference to the passage of Gesenius quoted in the first
note of this paper, " Die biklung in niTOK u.s.w. bei weitem melir in die
Analogic der agvptischen Pronominalformation eingreift als nriS^ u.s.w., z. B. in
die Semitischen ; wenn also hier jener Grund zu den angefuhrtcn Schluss be-
rechtigte, wiirde man eher geneigt sein miissen, das Umgekehrte anzunehmen."
Uebcr das Verhdltniss der dg. Sprachc, p. 80. He adds that Gesenius, who
always kept pace with science, would not repeat what he wrote in 1817. " Denn
Knllehnungcn von so wichtigen Elementen, wie die einfachen Personalpronomina
sind, finden in keiner Sprache Statt." This book of Benfey's is a very powerful
one, and leads to wrong conclusions only by being written upon imperfect
knowledge.
262
Mar. proceedings. [iS88.
first person plural * like anahiui or nahnu is known, no second
person plural like antiim or anfitn, no third person plural like hem
or huma.
The Assyrian pronoun of the third person, indeed, is su, not hn :
but I have just remarked that su, as representing the third person, is
not characteristic of Semitic origin. It might as well be claimed as
the lost nominative of the Latin sui, si/n', sc, corresponding to ///,
////, fi/'i, te!
Something remains to be said of the personal suffixes, especially
as regards those of the plural number — ;/, te-n, se-n. These three
have n as their ending, and they point to a time when the second
l^erson singular was represented by ta or ///, not by k — and the third
by su, not by/ Like tit and su they are of both genders, and they
are simply formed by adding en or na to those pronouns.
The termination awws en never occurs in plurals except in pro-
nominal forms, and among these it is not characteristic of the plural.
The demonstrative ^ _^ pa and c^ _^ ta only acquire additional
demonstrative force in ^ ^^ pen, and ^ ten, both signifving
"this." But that the addition of a demonstrative element to a word
may import into the compound a plural or distributive meaning is
certain from the history of the Indo-European demonstrative ka and
its kindred ; in such Latin words, for instance, as qiiis-qiie, uter-que,
7itrim-que, quicun-qiie, nbi-que. And this, I am told, is the way in
which some Dravidian languages form their plurals.
But the resemblance between even the suffixes of the Egyptian
and the Semitic languages has been strangely exaggerated. When
the first person (ending in /) of the Coptic verb was compared with
the first person of the Hebrew verb, it might be forgotten that the
Hebrew suffix is not -/ but -//. But the old Egyptian suffix of the
first person is [| a not /, and the corresponding Semitic suffix is ///,
//, or ku. The suffix of the third person masculine of the Egyptian
verb is ^.^ -ef, and of the third person feminine — h — es, neither
of which exponents have any existence in the Semitic verb.
The nominal suffixes are equally averse to identification.
Nominal and verbal suffixes are identical in Egyptian. The Semitic
* The imaginary form 0 ^'^^ which some Egyptologists have gratuitously
supposed, seems to imply that \\ rAAAAA an is the stem of 0 '^
But even this spurious iineii would bring us no nearer to nalina.
263
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.LOLOGY. [iSSS.
nominal suffix of the first person is / not a like the Egyjitian.
Even the Assyrian suffix is / if the noun ends in a consonant. It is
only the presence of another vowel which gives rise to a. The'
original form was most probably ya. The Egyptian ^^ -ef used
to be identified with ^n • No one has yet ventured to identify it
with su ; there is no doubt that it comes from 2^-=^ _^ £5:2 fa,
and represents the most remote of the three persons ; tVet-i/o-s
in fact. •
It would surely be an easy task to discover resemblances between
languages as remote as possible from each other, if the likenesses
were neither greater nor more numerous than can really be dis-
covered between Egyptian and Semitic. On opening a Tibetan
grammar, for instance, it will be found that the personal pronouns
are iiga I, kJiyod thou, kho he or she ; and that (as the particles
follow instead of preceding the word governed) the Tibetans say
kho la, instead of ^H/- The demonstrative pronouns are hdi this,
de that. Su has already passed into an interrogative, and so has
tdii.
Dr. Donner, one of the highest authorities on the Ugro-Finnish
languages, speaks of the undeniable agreement between the pro-
nominal system of these languages and that of the Indo-European.
It might be granted, he says,* that certain functions were natural to
the dental ta and to the guttural ka, or that chance played its part
in the matter, but " whence comes the identity of the Demonstrative
stems sa, ma, and how is it to be explained that the two families of
speech agree in using the demonstrative ta for the second and ma
for the first person?" But, he wisely adds, '• Verirren wir uns nicht
in die dunklen Irrgange der friihesten Sprachperiode."f
* " Ueber die Wortbiklung in der Finniscli-Ugr. Sprachen." in the Zeits. d.
D.M.G., XX., 695.
tin the early essay of Bopp ah-eady quoted, he says, "Die Pronomina
gleichsam zu den vorsiindfluthigen Zeiten der Sprachc gehoren, und in Semitischen
iiber die Periode der Festsetzung des drei consonantischen Wurzelsystems hinaus-
reichen einsylbig sind und selbst formellen Zusammenhang mit Sanskritischen
Pronomina zeigen," p. 16. See also the long note to this passage. The doctrine
is no doubt unsound, but it has very much more to say for itself than the
unscientific talk about the Semitic character of Egyptian grammar.
264
'liil
AU AU
AU
?4
I{
P-.
<
H
W
H
O
1—1
w
u
o
u
H
X
w
if*i
>
11
4
Ai
AA
n 11
Hr
i
AA
AA
4
Hr
Ai
AA
A
k
Ia"
AA
Hr
Ai
Ai
a
kk
IT
Tr
t ^
U
k
^
B
>
kk
kkk
Hr
k
k
AA
11
4-
ii
it
AA
A
aIa
I
Ai
AA
i
AU
Ai
A
4-
6i ^
i
T
Hr IF
AU
AI
AA
AA
AA
1^
111
AA
AA
AAA
AA
AA
A
4
A
u
i
Hr
H-
^
AA
A
A
AA
aT
kk
AA
*^
»^
u
1>
1>
AU
»-4
1>
AAA
'a
AA
A
AAA ^ AAA
A Tr
t UA
A
r
!ul
^
r^
^-
>
IT
IT
. ^-
-
Tn^
^
<4
Y" ^
~
is
^ —
. A
i
-T
l^^l
f
^
I
i
^
^
1
A
A
it
J7n
i
Xkkl
II
^
.^
It
It
i
^
^^
4-
It
^ !
^
^
A
i 1
^
^^
AAA
II
^Y
>
AA
-
i
i
A
A
A
A
1
AAA
^
*-
s.
>-
i
>-^
>->"
>->- 1
K>-
Y 1
i
u
^
\%
XT
^
Y .
^
>^
^•^
A
A
^
<<
1
^ \
-<v
1
*A
-1—
•
lU
1
A
a
u
IT
AAA
AAA
1
A
>►>-
AA
AA
AA fcr
'^J^ Ia
V
k
AAA
^
^
AA
J4-
I
Tu
It
lU
Al
J_
^
>.>-
IT
AA
1
^. —
^
1
It
I
1
k
14
k
AAA]
>^
A
1
AA
AA
2
4-
A
K
X
A
A
AA
AA
XT
1>^
4-
A
AA
AA
i
It
IT
4-
li
i
AA
AA
2- 4-
i^ n
A AAA
kk I=—
A i_ ^
r
/
AA
AA
A A
ir
1 . ^/
AA
AA
AA
AA
^^
'ivS'i-
^^ - ^ <.i^^
*~"
*^
*~~
*~~
>M^J>M
i.>M--
•'-'' ^
UAi
^
CO
<
<
CO
X
H
O
I—*
W
U
^;
o
u
H
X
W
H
CO
^^* 9|^^^9|^^|S^|9'i)j^^^
g^W^
^ ^ r
ill
I
A
1
i
I
4-
1 1 X, .•,/>*•>
-^
>f
AA
AA
>^
4-
A
AA
AA
i
It
A
, A,.
4-^
AA^
AA;
i^
A
AA
AA
AAA
li
Hi
II
w
T
AAA
A
TO
iii
f
<3
Pi
I &'>^ i'>> ;i&^'l>;>^'&^^ix>^1>^^1^^^^^^^
TO
11
li
r
i xu
,4-
AU
til
1>
kk
^X.
a n
k
kk
kk
5f »
N<- N^
^
^
ii
il
kkk
k
Xkk
>>► >•>►
tu
-!>
kk
kk
il ^ t^
*kk
A A ,v4.-'v<^^
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., March, i88S.
Plate III.
A NEW TEXT CONCERNING THE STAR KAK-SI-DI.
K. 2310. — Obverse.
c^.::.:.:->f:iy-M:;.,.. __: . , ^
r ^-^>f 4^ n 4^^r y 4-1! ^^i!^! ^li <+ li
- 4 <r- ^-rr "^imi ^u i
! ^^F4- j^ n ^^y < ^^K>f ^141 -II 1? ^< H< <r-a
^^i ^iHE^T I -+ iJ 4 j^i <T- f^>i — p
^ -< 'EI 4-11 *^M ^i i
>^ ^ ^ ^ g<^
y -^>f^r2i^^r ^i -^|- I
I jirr < ^TR ^iR - >f ^r <« a^r^3~ I
:^^i <^ ^m ^ tt] c^i mmmmm
I ^cK>f -? ^r -? I jr^^r i^ ^ -E^? ^4- -^u "EI ftti
T -tK>f ^y ^r -¥ I ^< -UA - U -? t^ ^^I l^iT ^
^ii « ^i HI -? -B] ^ "EKi ^ir r ^^^^M
I - '^i <::! <^i^ ^ ^ <^r^ i:^ — ^^^y^'^'^i
-- ->f -^W ^^I -^> -EI -T^T;: <j! < j^y^ ^-:^m
I -lyj ^^?->f 5< I ^-^>f- "EI y j5? <y^ <y^ ^y'^:: 1
* --^ <<- YT '-^- ~^
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
A NEW TEXT
CONCERNING THE STAR KAK-SI-DI.
London, March x-jth, 18S8.
Dear Mr. Rylands,
Since I have written the note pubhshed in my Zeifschriff,
1887, p. 445 fT., I found out that the tablet K. 2071, mentioned
there, p. a,^^^ footnote * is pubhshed already in W.A.I. Ill, pi. 57,
No. 8. The last line but two ought to be there : \ ^tY>->f- '^^TTT
t=: <:::: ^ "^yyy V IHI^I- I^^ g<^^^g o^^r the K.-Collection
again, I came across two other tablets, on which the Ci^|>-»f- Xi-
t^yy ^yj^ occurs, and which turned out to exhibit one and the
same text. K. 2S94, measuring 3^ in. by 3^ in., has a label on
box, saying that the text is an "astrological" one; its Babylonian
duplicate, however, K. 2310, 3|^m. by 2^ in., has no label at all.
Not finding any reference to these two texts, I suppose that they are
quite new, and give you both, the duplicate containing on reverse
a considerable portion of the context which continues that shown
by K. 2894. In the latter I have restored some mutilated begin-
nings of lines according to the duplicate, transcribing the respective
Babylonian characters into Assyrian. ]\Ir. Evetts was so kind as to
help me in copying the tablets.
I do not venture to give you a translation of this text. It may
supply, however, a hint, for answering the question raised by Dr.
Jensen in the Vienna Zeitschrift filr die Kiinde des Moi-genhmdes,
1887, p. 205.
Yours, etc.,
Ch. Bezold.
* I might have remarked there that also on K. 150 (W.A.I. IV, 59) the star
BAN is connected with the KAK-.SI-DI.
265 Z
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.'EOLOGY. [iSSS.
Notice sur un nouveau contrat date d'Hammourabi et sur
les donnees historiques que nous fournissent les
contrats de ce temps.
Par le Docteur V. et le Professeur E. Revillout.
Jusqu'ici on ne possedait en fait de contrats dates d'Hammourabi
que ceux provenant de Warka qui ont ete publics en copies par
M. Strassmaier et traduits par nous les premiers. Nous avons
donne Tensemble de ces anciens contrats, en montrant les relations
qui les rattachent les uns aux autres et en retra^ant ainsi I'histoire de
toute une famille de commer^ants, dans I'appendice du cours sur les
obligations en droit Egyptien compare aux autres droits de rantiqiiite*
Les cessions d'immeubles s'y effectuent par des formules tres
simples, tres claires, mais qui n'avaient pas ete comprises avant nous.f
* Nous en avions deja resume un grand nonibre et traduit entierement un des
]ilus importants en 1885 dans la " lettre a I'auteur " publiee en tete de la these sur
'■ la condition juridique de la femme dans I'ancieniie Egj-pte " soutenue a I'Ecole du
Louvre par un de nos eleves, M. Paturet. Le sens des formules finales " uhirsii "
" numuundapale " s'y trouve indique, p. 29.
t Voici comment M. Strassmaier, a la page 321 des actes du congres de
Berlin, avait compris un de ces actes, le seul d'ailleurs qu'il ait essaye de traduire,
celui qui porte au British Museum et dans ses copies le No. 11 :— ^
" Ein Garten und Haus, Grundbesitz und Eigenthum des Sininana, Eigenthum
und Erbe (?) der Sohne der Uber-Sln, ist durch Vertrag zugesichert (?) ; ebenso
(lurch Vertrag das Sinazu mit Minani, dem Sohne der Mikrat-Sin, und Ilani-
turam (oder Ninituram ?) seine Sohne. Sini Nana, der Sohn der Hani und Apil-
viba sein Bruder schatzen es ab ; 3^ mana Silber als wollstandigen Preiss
bezahlen sie. Ueber dem bestimmten Tag soil der Zahlungstermin nicht hinaus-
geschoben werden, und sie soUen den Termin nicht iiberschreiten. Den Namen
seines Konigs soil er annifen (Schworen)."
Ainsi, suivant M. Strassmaier, il aurait ete dit dans cet acte que : " un jardin
et une maison, fond et propriete de Sininana, propriete et heritage des fils d'Ubarsin,
etaient assures par contrat : de meme. par contrat, la maison de Sinazu avec
Minanu fils de Mikraatsin et Ilanituram son fils." Mais rien n'eut indique a qui
etaient assures de cette maniere toutes ces proprietes diverses, dont I'une eut ete
\ la fois I'heritage des fils d'Ubarsin et le fond de Sininana, tandis que I'autre
eut appartenu a Sinazu avec Minanu et son fils. L'estimation en eut ete
faite par Sininana, coproprietaire de la premiere, ne jxuivant jouer, par consequent,
d'apres ces donnees que le role de co-vendeur, et par son frere. Le prix eut et^
paye en entier : et cependant on eut ajoute, " le terme de payement ne sera pas
remis au del^ du jour fixe et ils ne depasseront pas ce terme." Tout cela etait im-
possible au point de vue juridique. Nous avons indique la signification de cet acte
verbalement des que le volume du congres de Berlin eut paru et occasionncllemcnt
266
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
On commence par indiquer la nature du bien en question, sa
contenance, les voisinages. Puis viennent les noms des deux parties,
dans une phrase ainsi conoue :
"Avec un tel (le proprietaire), un tel (I'acheteur) I'a mis a
prix. Telle somme, pour son prix complet, il a paye."
Nous avons eu un instant sous les yeux une nouvelle tablette
datee egalement du regne d'Hammourabi et qui renfermait ces
formules dont nous avions donne la clef; mais, point sur lequel nous
insistons, cet acte ne nous parait pas provenir de Warka comme
ceux du British Museum.
Evidemment le droit est le meme qu'a AVarka, puisqu'on atteint
le meme but au moyen des memes formules juridiques. Mais le culte
local est autre ; car, au lieu d'invoquer, dans le serment qui termine
le corps du contrat, en premiere ligne le dieu Sin sous le nom
dans une courte note ecrite a la hate pour ne pas laisser negliger les souvenirs de nos
explications verl^ales, dont les premieres remontaient alors a plus d'un an. Dans
cette note, dont le sens general a ete conserve, bien que la publication, faite en
dehors de nous, laisse a desirer au point de vue de I'exactitude, nous avons montre
comment se divisaient cet acte et tous ceux de ce genre. En premier lieu vient
Findication de la contenance du domaine, de sa nature et de ses voisins. C'est
ici : " un sar (mesure superficielle) de terrain cultive ; (avoisinant) d'un cote
(v^YT) le terrain de Sininana ; d'un cote ( J^YY ) la propriete part (hereditaire)
(yvK *^T) '-^'^^ enfants d'Ubarsin ; a un bout ("^YY^t) le chemin {>z\l '^>")
et a un bout (^YYrfz) le propriete de Sinazu."
Apres cela vient I'indication des proprietaires, avec lesquels les acheteurs,
egalement nommes, fixent le prix, prix qui se trouve specific, mais comme entiere-
ment verse. Ici c'est de Minanu, fils de Mikraatsin et d'llanituram, son fils, que
Sininana, fils d'llaniirba, et Apililani, son frere, ont achete. C'est avec (■^ J^y )
ce pere et ce fils que les deux freres en ont fixe le prix. lis ont verse (comme
acquereurs) trois mines et demi d'argent pour son prix complet. La se termine le
corps de I'acte proprement dit. Suivent : d'une part, des formules de style
destinees a assurer pour'l'avenir les effets de la convention, et dune autre part,
I'invocation, faite dans ce meme but, du nom des dieux et du nom du roi. Ce ne
sont pas seulement les contrats d'alienation qui se terminent de cette double
maniere, mais des actes fort differents, telle que la singuliere emancipation par
desaveu traduite entierement par nous dans la lettre precedant la these de M.
Paturet, (avec le rapprochement de deux autres documents egalement de Warka,
de la meme epoque et d'une nature tout-a-fait semblable, dont I'un se trouvait
redige presque completement en accadien pur).
Mentionnons encore parmi les textes archaiques de Warka traduits par nous
de nombreux actes de partage, des echanges, des revendications de propriete, des
contestations iudiciaires oe divers genres, etc.
267 Z 2
Mak. 6] SOCIETY OF BI15LICAL ARCII.KOLOCV. [iS8S.
d'Uruki, dieu eponyme de la ville de Warka— dans laquelle Samas,
le dieu solaire, n'etait que Ic fils du dieu lunaire— on y invoque
en premiere ligne le couple divin Samas et ^>f y]f ]} (Ai), dans
lequel le soleil a la lune i^our epouse. Cette association de Samas
avec Ai, '->f- fy fy' ^'omme coujile divin, dans un meme culte et
dans un meme temple, existait dans plusieurs des villes qui
honoraient particulierement le soleil. Nous citerons Sipara et
surtout Larsam. Le temple que Nabuchodonosor le grand fit
reconstruire dans cette derniere ville etait justement le Sanctuaire
commun du dieu Samas et de la deesse Ai : " je retablis," dit expres-
sement ce monarque dans son cylindre, (W.A.L, I, 62, col. 2, 1. 42),
" le temple Eparra, de Larsam, pour Samas et Ai', mes Seigneurs."
ST 4 en st4 -sr <mt<t .fs ^\a m t? ^4 -+ if
<VY\ -+ T? i? -n n- ^\ T? s:? <« <y- c^n s;? i<j ^\
Nous aurons a revenir bientot sur les indications fournies sur la
provenance de cette tablette par I'etude des noms divins qui s'y
trouvent invoques, indications corrobees d'ailleurs par d'aiitres
encore, resultant de la maniere dont sont formes les noms des
parties, etc. Mais nous devons dire auparavant quel etait le sujet
de ce contrat.
Comme d'ordinaire a cette epoque, on commence par indiquer
la nature et la situation du bien qu'il s'agit de transmettre : cebien
consiste en une terre cultivee, donnant sur la grande route (^ ^^t),
et dont la contenance est evaluee a deux mesures sar. De part et
dautre, les voisins sont des femmes ; c'est une femme qui achete ;
et parmi les vendeurs, au nombre de deux, figure une autre femme.
II est probable que le covendeur doit etre le mari de celle-ci ; car, si
c'etait un frere vendant avec sa soeur un bien paternel, la filiation
serait indiquee par le nom du meme pere pour ces deux cointeresses ;
tandis qu'on contraire ou rencontre ici des noms de peres tres dissem-
blables. Notre attention s'etant surtout portee sur le corps de I'acte,
dans le tres court examen que nous avons pu en faire, un soir, a la
hate, il y a plus de trois mois, comptant d'ailleurs le revoir bientot
a loisir, nous nous bornerons \ remaniuer au sujet de ces quatre
noms de femmes (voisines ou parties) qu'un meme element, le groupe
i^I>- ^>3[- ^, la face du soleil, se rencontre egalement dans trois
sur quatre, bien que ces femmes appartiennent a autant de families
differentes. Quant a celle cpii fait exception, c'est une voisine du
bien cede, qui para it etre d'unc autre ville, car le nom de son pere
268
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
•^'^'f Iiy -spy parait etre forme sur le nom de Warka ; mais ce nom
de ville est ecrit cette fois phonetiquement, au lieu d'etre exprime
par un ideogramme qui le represente habituellement a Warka meme
dans les tablettes de la meme epoque : cette variante scripturale est
a noter, car elle suffirait pour montrer que la provenance n'est point
Warka. Le corps de Facte meme d'ailleurs presente egalement des
variantes dignes de remarque. Le voici done, transcrit en caracteres
Babyloniens modernes pour en permettre I'impression.
<3M4 r^-^I tn '4> <h- 1> J^HH
4 -^ II! HT^r >7^m]^]^].-.
<r-^
muhJii ki/hal'barra insiinsam
sa7n tillahisii
sinabi maiia kubahhar innaanlal
ukursu du nuitmi/ia/iia
viu Par, At, Afarduk,
-sa Haiiimoiirabi
inpa
Comme on le voit par cette transcription, ou les seuls noms
propres Marduk et Hammourabi ont une physionomie Semitique,
tout le canon des contrats de ce genre, si nous pouvons nous exprimer
ainsi, avait ete fixe avant que les Semites ne vinssent conquerir la
Chaldee ; et c'est pourquoi les gens d'affaires qui avaient la specialite
d'ecrire lesactesemployaienttoujours les vieilles formules appartenant
a la vieille langue sumerienne ou accadienne. A ce point de vue,
la tablette que nous examinons rentre absolument dans la meme
regie que les tablettes similaires de W\arka, et, sauf en ce qui touche
les noms de dieux, la traduction en est presque identique.
"(Avec les vendeurs, I'acheteuse) en a fixe le prix en argent.
Pour son prix complet, f de mine elle a verse, (mot-a-mot : pese ).
lis (les vendeurs) n'ont plus de reclamation (a faire). Les noms
de Samas, d'AT, de Marduk et d'Hammourabi sont invoques."
269
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [1888.
Mais si nous entrons dans les details du texte lui mcme, nous
avons de suite a constater des differences importantes.
Les premiers mots muhhi kubabbarra ^31^1-*^ ij'^l ^T^ "^
se rencontrent a cette place dans aucun des actes de \\'arka. On
les traduirait en semitique par "-ana eli kaspa "; mais on serait oblige
pour cela d'aj outer une pre'position que ne renferme pent etre pas le
texte sumerien. En effet la syllabe ^^, qui joue souvent comme
preposition le meme role en sumerien qu'en babylonien semitique
atia, nous parait etre simplement dans le cas actuel la syllabe de
prolongation du substantif knbabha?; comme ^ est la syllabe de
prolongation du radical ;//////. L'emploi des syllabes de prolongation
peut permettre la suppression de prepositions proprement dites, et
nous nous trouvons d'autant plus portes a expliquer ainsi ^X^
(ju'ici la preposition sumerienne la mieux indiquee, s'il en intervenait
vraiment une, serait plutot ]^. Notons d'ailleurs que I'intercalation
de ces mots ne modifie en rien le sens, car c'etait toujours en
argent qu a Warka meme on fixait le prix des biens cedes. La
forme verbale qui indique cette fixation du prix offre une variante
insignifiante insiitisam au lieu d'insisain des actes de Warka.
Par rapport aux actes de Warka la phrase qui suit presente une
inversion : on y dit en effet " pour son prix complet, ■§ de mine
d'argent, elle a verse," tandis que dans le style consacre de Warka
on dirait. "f de mine d'argent, elle a verse, pour son prix complet."
On ne constate d'ailleurs aucune difference dans les termes, sauf que
le mot 7nana est ecrit pleiic avec les deux memes syllabes qui le
composent habituellement dans les documents les plus raodernes.
Ceci n'est pas sans importance, car ce mot se trouvait toujours
represente par un seul signe dans les actes de Warka dates du regne
d'Hammourabi ; et si, pour cjuelques uns de ces actes, tels que le
No. 68, le No. 75 du British Museum, etc., le signe via^ soit sous une
forme archaique, soit sous une forme plus moderne, etait facilement
reconnaissable dans les copies de M. Strassmaier, pour quelques autres,
tels que le No. 72, le No. 55, le No. 59, etc., la ressemblance etait
moins nette, et pour quelques autres enfin, tels que les Nos. 66 et le
No. 58, (ses No. 39 et 31), M. .Strassmaier paraissait avoir assimile lui
meme le signe qu'il copiait au signe TTTEy. Or la comparaison des
actes, des contenances donnees et des natures de bien ne permettait pas
de supposer une distinction a faire entre ces signes, de telle sorte (lue
run,represenlant le sekel,aurait ete le 60^""" de I'autre, representant la
270
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
mine. Tout prouvait qu'il fallait trouver le meme poids d'argent sous
ces diverses variantes graphiques. II s'agissait d'une seule et meme
mesure ponderale, qui se divisait par moitie, (No. 72 du B. M. —
confer Nos. ix, 12/15 ^^ ■^- S^- ^^^■) P^^ deux tiers (No. 60 du B.
M. No. 33 de M. St.) par tiers (Nos. 53, 64, 66, 75, etc., du B.
M.) par sixiemes (No. 58 du B. M., No. 31 de M. St.) peut-etre aussi
par quarts (No. 22 du B. M. date du meme regne d'Hammourabi,
bien que classe par M. Strassmaier, sous le No. 90, parmi les
tablettes d'epoque incertaine, etc.). Avions nous affaire, en pareil
cas, a des tiers de sekel, a des quarts de sekel, et a des sixiemes
de sekel, comme M. Strassmaier paraissait I'avoir cru dans ses
Nos. 31 et 39? Nous ne I'avions jamais pense, mais nous sommes
heureux de voir que la nouvelle tablette resout cette question
d'une fagon definitive, en nous presentant le nom de la mine ecrit,
comme dans les documents les plus recents, par les deux syllabiques
ma et na parfaitement distincts.
Nous en arrivons aux formules qui terminent le corps de Facte,
comme dans les tablettes de Warka. Elles se composent ici de
quatre lignes, dont les trois dernieres se rapportent a I'invocation du
nom des dieux et du nom du roi, invocation qui place le contrat
sous la double sauvegarde du droit religieux et de I'autorite seculiere.
Dans la tablette que nous etudions les noms divins se succedent
dans I'ordre suivant: En premiere ligne Samas et son epouse >->f- ^ y][;
en deuxieme ligne, Marduk, le dieu de Babylone, qui precede
immediatement Hammourabi, roi de Babylone et d'une dynastie
toute babylonienne.
Si nous examinons comparativement les actes de Warka, nous
constatons que, pour ceux-ci, il y a lieu de faire une double distinction
qui les separe a ce point de vue en trois groupes.
Un premier acte, date du regne d'Apil Ramanu, ne porte, en
fait de nom divin invoque, conjointement au nom du roi regnant,
que le seul nom d'Uruki, c'est a dire de Sin sous la forme qui en
faisait le patron religieux de la ville de Warka.
Apres cela vient un groupe, relativement nombreux, de tablettes
datees du regne du roi Rimsin. Dans ces tablettes souvent on associe,
toujours en seconde ligne, le nom de Samas au nom d'Uruki, quand
on place le contrat sous une sauvegarde divine. Dans ce cas le nom
du roi Rimsin suit immediatement le nom du dieu Samas. D'autrts
fois on ne nomme ni Rimsin, ni Samas, ni Uruki meme, se bornant
a dire : " ils invoquent le nom du roi."
271
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.KOLOGY. [iS88.
Le troisieme groupe comprend les actes qui portent les noms
d'Hammourabi ou de son fils Samsi iluna. Dans ceux ci figure le
nom d'un dieu nouveau, le dieu Marduk, le dieu babylonien par
excellence. Jamais, — nous insistons vivement sur ce point qui est
d'une tres grande importance — jamais le nom de Marduk n'apparait
danscette formuleavant le regne d'Hammourabi ; tandisque, comme
le montre aussi notre nouvelle tablctte, sous la domination
d'Hammourabi le nom du dieu Marduk accompagne, partout, dans
les serments le nom de ce prince. C'est la regie a Warka. C'est
egalement la regie, nous le voyons, dans una ville qui avait pour
dieu principal Samas accompagne de son epouse A'i et que nous
pensons etre Larsam, On sait que le regrette Smith, dont le tlair etait
si merveilleux, avait represente Hammourabi comme un conquerant
etranger qui s'etait em pare de Warka en en chassant le roi Rimsin.
Cette maniere de voir etait d'ailleurs parfaitement d'accord avec une
tablette chronologique que Smith lui meme avait publiee. Cette
liste comprenait des dynasties d'origines diverses et, entre autres, une
dynastie expressement designee comme babylonienne, vers le milieu
de laquelle figuraient Hammourabi, puis Samsiiluna. Or dans cette
dynastie babylonienne, comme predecesseur du roi Hammourabi,
la liste de Smith, confirmee par celles qu'a publiee depuis lors
Mr. Pinches, nenomme nuUement le roi Rhnsin, mais au contraire
le roi Sinmubalit. Smith faisait remarquer qu'a la fin de son regne
le roi Rimsin s'etait trouve en guerre avec un ennemi puissant, ainsi
que le prouvait la phrase de circonstance datant cette annee. Le
commencement de cette phrase indiquant que le roi Rimsin avait
repousse un ennemi mauvais, se retrouvait, apres son rbgne, sous le
regne d'Hammourabi : mais mutilee de telle sorte qu'elle representait
le roi Rimsin lui meme comme ennemi mauvais. I.'etude des noms
divins confirme done ces reflexions de Smith, en leur donnant un
caractere de certitude presque absolue. Ce n'est point par une
succession legitime dans une meme famille que Warka est passee
des mains de Rimsin aux mains d'Hammourat)i : c'est par une
conquete. Non seulemcnt un roi etranger a pris le pouvoir dans la
ville conquise, mais un dieu etranger, le dieu de la ville conquerante,
est venu partager avec les dicux locaux le patronage des contrats, de
tout le droit public ou prive.
Peut etre deja I'introduction du dieu Samas s'etait elle operee de
meme par une conquete ^trangere. Le nom de ce dieu intervient
en meme temps cjue celui de Rimsin ; et peut etre cette formula
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iSSS.
abregee si frequente sous Rimsin ; " ils invoquent le nom du roi " ou
"de leur roi" a-t-elle eu pour cause la repugnance que certains devots au
dieu Uruki avaient a mettre sur la meme ligne la dieu d'une ville etran-
gere. Quelle serait cette ville etrangere qui aurait produit en Rimsin le
premier conquerant de Warka avant la conquete babylonienne d'Ham-
mourabi ? Peut etre Larsam, la ville qui vient de nous fournir notre
tablette contemporaine, ville dont Te temple principal etait nomme
"maison du soleil" Eparra (ou Ebabbarra), bien que la femme du
soleil, Ai, y fut egalement honoree.
Dans le patronage des villes conquises, comme dans la denomina-
tion de ce temple, on se serait borne a laire figurer le nom de Samas.
II y avait d'ailleurs a AVarka une raison particuliere pour ne pas y
introduire Ai, deesse representant la lune, puisque la lune s'y trouvait
deja repre'sentee par le dieu Sin ou Uruki, dieu principal de cette
ville. Dans la mythologie locale, qui nous a ete conservee par un
certain nombre d'hymnes bilingues, a Warka comme a INIugheir, le
soleil, Samas, avait pour pere le dieu Sin, Uruki, c'est a dire la lune ;
et il ne jouait par consequent qu'un role secondaire. Tandis qu'il
joue un role tout-a-fait principal dans d'autres hymnes egalement
bilingues mais de provenance dilTerente. II fallait bien compter
un peu avec les croyances locales dans ces essais de conciliation
qu'ont plus tard imites les grecs. Rimsin ne pouvait vraiment faire
jouer a la lune un double role dans les formules ofificielles de Warka.
Sous le regne de Rimsin nous trouvons une ^re dont, suivant
Smith, le point de depart a ete la conquete d'une ville importante.
Cette ere, qui se continue au moins jusqu'a sa 28'='"^ annee, cesse avant
la fin du regne de Rimsin, probablement parceque la ville dont il
s'agit avait ete reprise sur ce roi. Si nous possedions des contrats
de cette ville, les noms des dieux nous fourniraient la preuve de ces
deux conquetes et pourraient peut etre nous permettre de savoir si la
seconde fut faite par les babyloniens ou par quelque autre peuple.
Une fois introduit dans le culte ofificiel de Warka, le dieu Samas
n'en fut pas expulse. Les documents historiques nous montrent
avec quel soin les anciens respectaient les dieux des peuples qu'ils
avaient vaincus. Nous possedons encore la formule par laquelle
les Romains priaient ceux des villes qu'ils voulaient detruire et en
grossissaient leur pantheon. C'est ainsi que ce vieux " pere ///," ce
dieu dont le culte eut toujours une solennite beaucoup plus grande
que tous les autres, finit par avoir tant de collegues. Le babylonien
Hammourabi avait d'ailleurs d'autant moins de tendance a mecon-
273
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF lUliLICAL AKCILEOLOGV. [iSSS.
tenter le dicu Samas qu'il parait avoir eu pour lui une veneration
toute particuliere puisqu'il lui consacra une grande construction,
nomniee de son nom.
II nous reste a examiner la ligne qui precede I'invocation des
dieux et du roi. La formule qu'elle renferme est une des plus
simples parmi les formules des contrats de cette epoque. D'abord
les mots ^ ^ JgJ traduits dans les bilingues par ina mafima
"desormais." Puis seulement 3T>^T "7^ '^I ^T ^f- Ces mots se
rencontrent a la fin d'actes de tout genre dans la serie de Warka ;
aussi bien alors qu'il s'agit de partages, comme dans les Nos. 9, 25,
91 de M. Strassmaier, que lorsqu'il s'agit de cessions gratuites,
comme dans le No. 86, ou de cessions centre de I'argent, comme
dans les Nos. 62, 54, 39, 6, 5, etc. Le plus souvent le mot 3I»-T
y recoit la syllabe de prolongation ^f qui en fixe la signification.
C"est ce *<y^y dont la prononciation sumerienne est donnee a la
pi. 39 de ¥*= vol. de W.A.I, par J^f *^ et qui signifiait dabobu,
gabii, epis pii. Cette derniere expression epis pii est employee dans
le recit de la descente d'Istar aux enfers toutes les fois que le
gardien de la porte dit quelque chose et ouvre la bouche pour parler;
qahu " parole," dabiibu ( = ^H'T, Icqiii) rentrent dans la meme serie
d'idees. Quand au verbe ^f ^J il a pour correspondant
habituel le semitique sakanu faire etre, placer, faire. Dans ce sens,
il etait souvent prononce ga en sunierien. Mais la variante
graphique *^ ^^ X\\\ ^f qui remplace ici comme dans le No. 9 1
et le No. 5 de M. Strassmaier la forme plus habituelle *^ ^f ^f
nous semble indiquer qu'on doit plulot prononcer ma : la lettre de
prolongation, (juand elle se rencontre, etant habituellement un a.
Placer une parole, introduire une parole a propos d'un acte, c'est
reclamer contre cet acte. Aussi trouvons nous [<T^I ^T >ffT ^^^T
traduit par iraggumu a la ligne 26 de la pi. 25 du tome V de W.A.I.
Dans notre copie, faite si hativement, nous croyons voir 'k la fin de
cette ligne le caractere ^!^ qui fixerait la prononciation du mot
semiti([ue iraggumu: on trouve en effet souvent un complement
phonetique de ce genre, tire, non point de la vieille langue, mais de
la langue nouvelle, dans laquelle les expressions de cette vieille
langue jouaient alors le role d'ideographiques. Comme dans les
actes de Warka de la meme epoque la regie est toute difierente,
comme les complements phonetiques y sont tires de la vieille
langue, et non du semitique, pour les ideogrammes se rapportant k
274
Mar. 6] TROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
cette vieille langue, cela constituerait entre les habitudes des scribes
de Larsam et des scribes de Warka une divergence importante :
nous I'avons meme consideree comnie trop importante pour
I'admettre, sans revision du texte, d'apres un seul coup d'oeil. Au
fond la formule vague que nous trouvons ici veut dire simplement
que toutes les enonciations de Facte sont exactes, ont ete consenties
par les interesses et qu'on ne peut pas reclamer contre une de ces
enonciations. C'est pourquoi, a toutes les epoques et dans les
actes de tout genre, cette formule peut etre inseree.
Dans les Nos. 5 et 6 de M. Strassmaier, nous la trouvons associee
a une autre formule, d'une interpretation beaucoup plus delicate. II
s'agit de tablettes datees du regne du roi Rimsin; et avant ces mots
" Desormais il n'y a rien a dire sur cet acte," apres la mention du
prix verse, car il s'agit, comme dans le cas actuel, d'un immeuble
cede pour de I'argent, il est dit a propos de cette cession : 3I^T
*"I<y^ *-^] ^y ^ I^ ^^ ^i! ^f '^"- ce qui doit se transcrire ici
duggalla ebisii imiagubbit. Le sens de diiggalla nous est donne par
la planche 40 du second volume de W.A.I., oli cette expression est
rendue en semitique par biigiirru a la ligne 27 et par rugummii a la
ligne 2S. Quant k giibbii c'est le meme verbe qui prend si souvent
la forme gnbba. Nous pourrions en effet prouver par une multitude
d'exemples combien souvent la vocalisation varie en accadien, avec
conservation de la consonne fondamentale, dans une syllabe de pro-
longation. Ce verbe est traduit habituellement en semitique, soit
par kaan, soit par nazazu. C'est ainsi qu'a la planche 15 du meme
volume de W.i\.I. il est dit que la porte et le verrou sont fixes :
>Z^|^ t^yyy "^Hh ^y '^•^ >^y ibtaangubbus, en Touranien, avec la
vocalisation ii {bu) pour la syllabe de prolongation et I'adjonction du
pluriel es; et en semitique kunnfi. Avec la vocalisation a pour la syllabe
de prolongation ga/ien gitbba et habaan gubba sont egalement traduits
lit kaan "■ qu'il se fixe " aux lignes 18 et 39 de la 15^1116 planche du 4^"i«^
volume, etc. Quant a fiazazu, dans une multitude de passages dont
la liste serait trop longue, alors qu'il represente gnbba, ou giibbu, il a
certainement un sens tres voisin de celui des mots knii/iu, kaa?i, etc.,
le sens d' "etablir." C'est en ce sens qu'il faut le traduire, ainsi
que nous I'avons deja dit dans les deux derniers volumes du cours
de droit egyptien compares aux autres droits de I'antiquite, lorsque
ce verbe semitique nazazu se trouve associe a son derive manzazam/,
et le verbe accadien J^y giib (prolonge en gubba) avec son derive
Kyt i^yyy *^y """^y kutagubba^ a propos de cessions d'immeubles et
275
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [iSS8.
d'autrcs biens. dans la 13^116 planche du 2^^'"^ volume 'de W.A.I,
II avait d'abord ete question dans ce passage, relatif aux coutumes
juridicjues des vieux peuples de la Chaldee, de cette mise h. prix pour
argent ^yyt^yyi t--(^j£^ hdasam, qui est la partie fondamentale du
contrat ([ue nous venous d'examiner, comme de tous les contrats
semblables. L'etablissement pour argent, kutai::;iibba^^ma}izaza7nc
suit cette mise a prix pour argent, kutasam. Un peu plus loin, le
texte bilingue revient en ces termes sur les operations qui nous
occupent >t<S *-\^ ^^^ ^TTI^ Ty *^ I^ " ^^^^'^^ interet pour son
argent " en semitique assu tzibat kospi su, J^lffy jy "^fyf S^f E^]t7
-Tf^ _l^ ^-^ -^T <\] j^-yiT ^y --y - <- ^ ^m J^r
" sa maison, son champ, son jardin, sa servante, son esclave il etablit
en etablissement pour argent " en semitique bi/a, ikla, kira, arda
amfa, a/ia >iia?izazani tizziz : ce qui veut dire que I'emprunteur,
voyant que 1 'argent re^ai en pret par lui, devenu son argent, le ruinerait,
par les interets a sa charge, met fin au compte de ces interets en cedant
a son creancier, en antichrese Chaldeenue, sa maison, ou son champ, ou
son jardin ou son esclave. Le creancier jouira de ces biens, comme
lui meme jouira de I'argent re^u, sans qu'il y ait des comptes
d 'interets, ou de loyer ou de produits quelconques, de part et
d 'autre. Pour bien montrer d'ailleurs qu'il ne s'agit pas d'une cession
ge'nerale de ces biens, mais d'un certain nombre de cessions speciales,
([ui peuvent etre isolees I'une de I'autre, le texte detaille ces cessions
dans une serie de phrases, dont chacune n'a pour objet qu'un seul de
ces biens " II compense sa maison centre de I'argent. II compense son
champ contre de I'argent, etc." Puis, prevoyant le cas ou ce debiteur
aurait dejh. paye une partie de la somme qui lui aurait e'te pretee
])rimitivemcnt et ou ])ar consequent il ne s'agirait ])lus que
d'eteindre les interets d'un reliquat, il ajoute, dans une phrase dont le
texte touranien est en partie brise, mais qui est intacte en semiticjue :
" De son e'crit (ou de son compte) pour ce qui n'etait pas vers^, de
ce qui restait sur cet ecrit (ou sur ce compte) ils ont (^tabli I'equivalence
avec de I'argent." Ainsi toute dette est liquidee et representee
desormais par des biens places en antichrese, en vmnzazaini^ en
kittai:;ubba. Le texte continue en ces termes ^ ^y1^ X^ *^ t^^^y <^4?fT j
E^yy ^ s^yyyy y? ^ ^y "•^y --y ^t^y ^yy<y " Le jour ou w rapportera
I'argent il rentrera dans sa maison." Le touranien est ici d'une
rlarte merveilleuse : et il en est de meme du semiticjue ainsi con^u ;
inu kaspa ubbahi, ana bifsu cnib. Tous les mots de cette phrase
sent des mots bion connus, qui se rencontrcnt a chaque pas dans les
276
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iSS8.
textes. La particule inic traduisant le mot 2^ de la vieille langue
est extremement frequente dans les bilingues et, sous cette forme
simple, avec une pareille equivalence, il est impossible qu'on y voie
autre chose que ce qu'elle est, une conjonction se rattachant a I'ide'e
de jour, yum^ comme la conjonction fran(,'aise le jour oil, qiiaiid. Ce
n'est point un des cas ou cette conjonction prend une forme sem-
blable a celle d'un verbe connu et peut par consequent se trouver
confondue, par exemple, avec un de ces noms qui representent des
noms theophores apocopes. * Quant au verbe abalu, dans le sens
" apporter," c'est egalement un mot vulgaire. On ne peut done
point songer a traduire comme on I'a fait " un hin (vase) rempli
d'argent entre dans sa maison." On le peut d'autant moins que les
texte continue : ^ <1,\ ^] >^ t-]]] <^]] ^f - ]\ ^]]] ^]W^
^2j *~^| t-^] J^ '~^] " Quand il rapportera son argent, il sera retabli
dans son champ," etc. donnant, tantot en touranien, tantot en
semitique, suivant la direction des lacunes, la suite de cette idee :
quand il rapportera son argent, il sera remis en possession des biens
cedes par lui en antichrese, kutagubha, d'apres I'equivalence etablie
entre chacun de ces biens et une somme d'argent, I'appreciation en
argent de ce bien, kutasam. Nous avons donne ce passage parce
qu'il precise I'interpretation que comporte le mot gubbu dans la
formule reproduite plus haut.
Notons d'abord que cette formule appartient exclusivement aux
plus vieux actes de Warka. Elle se rencontre : dans des actes expres-
sement dates du regne du roi Rimsin, qui s'y trouve nomme, (comme
dans les Nos. 5 et 6 deja. cites ; dans d'autres actes, qui appartiennent
au meme regne, mais ou le roi n'est pas nomme dans le serment
reduit a ces mots : " il invoque le nom de son roi," — nous citerons
notamment les Nos. 11, 16, 29, 32, ^t^, 35 du British Museum qui
sont devenus les Nos. 81, 85, 96, 99, 100 et loi de M. Strassmaier),
Dans tous ces actes les mots 3T^T ^T "7^ '*f\\ >ffl precedent les
formules de style commen^-ant par ^ ^ JEJ, en semitique itia
viatenia. On peut done dire qu'ils font partie du corps de I'acte, que
* Confer Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Arckicology, Numero du 3 May,
1887, page 174. II est vraiment curieux de voir un demarqueur celebre, dont les
traductions de contrats babyloniens, quand elles sont bien de lui, sont des series
ininterrompues de contresens, s'appliquer a rechercher des vetilles de ce genre dans
un ouvrage qui, bien que gros, est loin de renfermer en son entier, dans plusieurs
centaines de traductions d'actes de tout genre, autant d'erreurs, de confusions, de
fautes grossieres qu'une page prise en hasard dans cet auteur si delicat. V. R.
277
Mak. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [i8S8.
c'est un developpement, un detail ajoute, specific, mais rentrant dans le
sens general de la convention comme quand,dans notre acte, on trouve
avantle motsam "appreciation" le vsxoVimiihhi hibabbarra'''' ow argent."
En effet quoi de plus natural, dans une constitution d'antichrese, que
de dire: apres que le prix a et^ fixe, paye par le prencur, il (I'autre
partie) etablit son droit de reclamer (la chose, en la payant bien
entendu). Bugurru, ru^:;u)iunu ont certainement le sens de " recla-
mation" (droit de reclamer ou chose a reclamer) et quant a guhbu
nous venons de voir qu'il signifie egalement etablir, fixer, soit qu'on
le traduise par K/iiinii, soit qu'on le traduise par nazazu.
Apres la conquete effectuee par Hammourabi on trouve encore
cette formule dans un contrat, le No. 32 de M. Strassmaier, No. 59
du British Museum. Mais ce contrat doit etre de Tannee meme de
la conquete et avoir de tres pres suivi cette conquete, s'il faut s'en
fier aux indications donn^es par la copie de M. Strassmaier. En
eftet il ne serait date que par le jour et par le mois, le conquerant
n'ayant point encore determine la phrase sacramentelle qui devait
servir de devise pour Tannee. Dans cette tablette d'ailleurs on
remarque deja un d^placement, car les mots .^ «\- lU precedent
cette fois. II en est de meme du No. 93 de M. Strassmaier, date
nial determinee. Une autre tablette, le No. 85 de M. Strassmaier
(16 de British Museum) nous offre une particularite plus interessante.
En effet dans ce contrat, oii il s'agit d'une cession de terre cultivee
faite par un nomme Sinbelabli a un nomme Imgursin, les deux parties
figurent dans la formule qui nous occupe, mais Tune comme
sujet du verbe et I'autre comme regime de ce verbe gouverne au
moyen de la preposition \*l^- Cette preposition est rendue gene-
ralement en semitique par «;?«, voulant dire "a" "pour"et aussi
"vers, envers." De cette diversite de sens pour la preposition
resulte un certain doute pour la traduction a donncr. Faut-il dire :
"■Sinbelabli etablit son droit de reclamer sur, envers Imiiiosin" ou au
contraire : " Sinbelabli etablit le droit de reclamer pour Imgursin "
c'est h. dire cede a Imgursin tons les droits de propriete pleine et
entiere ?
Nous n'insisterons pas sur les aulres formules (]ui se prcsentent
dans les contrats de cette epoque et s'y trouvent parfois assocides
avec celles de notre tablette. Une des i)lus frequentes dans les
derniers temps, c'est celle-ci 31^1 V ^T4 (^^^ vendeurs)
»-^y »^ X^^ ^I!^ ^11-^ di'}^^i<>'i'a banibdede. Dans
ccitc formule nib Jede, comme du reste dans les bilingues, ou cette
278
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
expression se rencontre tres frequemment et ou elle est traduite par
le semitique ippal (voir W.A.I. IV, 7, 24; IV, 15, 64; IV, 22,
I, etc.), signifie "repond." Quant "k dnggarra, c'est le synonyme
exact de diiggalla, avec lequel il alterne dans les memes phrases.
II signifie done reclamation {bugurru, riigiaiuiiii). Nous le trouvons,
autrement ecrit 31^1 -^ "V ^X^ ^'^^^ ^^ comportant exactement
la meme prononciation, dans W.A.I. II, 27, 49 o\X il est traduit
en semitique par diibbuhii, mot vocalise de meme que hiigur?-u et
riigumiiiu, avec un sens tout a fait semblable. C'est une des par-
ticularites les plus curieuses de la langue sumerienne, en tant que
langue parlee, de pouvoir exprimer une meme idee avec une
serie d'ideogrammes qui rappelaient une lecture possible tout en
ayant par eux-memes et isole'ment des origines tres differentes.
Ainsi la lecture dug pour le signe ^ lui avait ete donnee dans
le cas oil ^ voulait dire tabu, "bon," ce qui n'a certainement
aucune espece de rapport avec une reclamation soulevee contre un
acte: ^f^f V ^H "'^T ^ ^Ie ^}}^ >TT4' veut dire en effet :
" le cedant repondra a toute reclamations venant d'autre part." Nous
avons montre dans la premiere legon de notre volume sur la propriete
en droit egyptien compare aux autres droits de ra?itiquite quelle etait
la portee juridique de cette formule. D'autres, qui signifient simple-
ment "on ne reviendra pas sur ce coiitrat," "on ne transgressera pas
les termes de ce contrat " n'exigent aucun commentaire.
Un dernier mot sur la tablette que nous avons etudiee aujour-
d'hui. La date n'en est representee que par un commencement de
phrase " annee oil le roi Hammourabi " a moins qu'on ne traduise
plus simplement "annee du roi Hammourabi." Dans ce dernier
cas ce serait selon toutes les probabilites I'annee meme ou Ham-
mourabi avait conquis la ville de Larsam, ville dans laquelle ce
contrat etait redige. Dans le cas contraire, on serait fort embar-
rasse pour preciser la date en terminant la phrase, car ce debut
se rencontre souvent dans les redactions d'Hammourabi "annee
ou le roi Hammourabi proclama Tasmit," "annee ou le roi
Hammourabi eleva la grande construction du Karasamas au bord
du Tigre," "annee ou le roi Hammourabi retablit Emiteurris," etc.
Nous avons tenu a insister sur les details qui mettent ces contrats
archaiques dans leur cadre historique.
En effet il ne faut pas oublier qu'en Chaldee comme en Egypte
les contrats ont la plus grande importance. Ce sont des contrats,
par exemple, qui nous ont appris I'existence de toute une dynastie
279
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [iSSS.
egyptienne de race ayant domine {)endant vingt ans en Thebai'de
apres en avoir expulse les grecs a la mort de Philopator.
Nous nous rappellerons toujours I'etonnement anxieux que nous
avons eprouve la premiere fois qu'un contrat du " roi Harmachis,
aime d'Isis, aime d' Anion ra sonter," nous est tombe sous les yeux,
au British Museum, dans le cabinet de notre venerable ami le
Dr. Birch, et quclles suppositions a perte de vue nous avons faites
ensemble a ce sujet. Bientot d'autres contrats du meme genre
furent vus par nous a Marseille et a Berlin et nous pumes tout
preciser. En effet on retrouvait dans ces contrats le notaire ^crivant
au nom des 5 classes de pretres, ce qui prouvait qu'ils etaient
posterieurs a Evergete i". Certains passages du papyrus grec i"
de Turin, d'un fragment de Polybe et du decret de Rosette nous
revinrent a I'esprit et nous permirent de retablir I'ordre chronologi-
que de ces rois egyptiens en nous servant surtout de I'histoire des
proprietes vendues et des parties qui se les transmettaient.* On
pent done affirmer qu'en cette occasion comme en beaucoup d'autres
ce furent les contrats qui nous fournirent la lumiere historique sur
des faits importants jusqu'alors inconnus.
II en sera de meme, pensons nous, pour les vieux contrats de
Warka et de Larsam.
Rien n'est trompeur comme la methode qui consiste a ne
s'appuyer que sur les canons royaux. Les listes de ce genre sont
toujours arrangees apres coup par ceux qui restent vainqueurs
en definitive et qui considerent leurs adversaires comme des princes
illegitimes. Les chroniques ofificielles sont aussi remplies de lacunes
voulues, de reunions ou de confusions bizarres et la verite ne nous
apparait que dans les documents contemporains, dont les plus
probants, les plus veridiques sont certaiuement les contrats.
* Les documents hicroglyjjhiques sont venus depuis confirmer completemenl
mes conclusions, que Brugsch aurait bien voulu s'approprier, conmie d'ordinaire.
Ajoutons que j'ai, dans le dernier No. de ma Revue &gyptologique (5t:nie annee
No. iii.) signale une concordance nouvelle : la mention du general Aristonicus
indique par Polybe, comme ayant ete chercher en Grece des troupes pour chasser,
sous :fipiphane, les derniers des revoltes et qui, dans le decret de Philee rendu
a roccasion de cette victoire, est expressement nomme comme ayant signale au roi
la n^cessite d'en finir avec les insurges du pays de Thebes, c'est-a-dire avec la
dynastie des Anchmachis et Harmachis. II faut remarquer du reste que si ces
derniers rois possedaient Thebes, comme I lammourabi possedait Warka et Larsam,
ils etaient egalement des rois d'origine etrangere (voir h. ce sujet mon second
memoire sur les Blemmyes). 1',. R.
280
Mar. 6] TROCEEDINGS. [iSSS.
THE ACCOUNT OF ST. PAUL AT ATHENS,
ILLUSTRATED BY MONUMENTS AND LITERATURE.
By the Rev. James Marshall.
St. Paul at Athens was in the very centre of the hterature and
philosophy of the time ; and accordingly the description of his stay,
given in the Acts of the Apostles, is corroborated both in its general
outlines and in some minute details by existing books and monu-
ments.
The description of the city as "full of idols" is so well attested,
that it is unnecessary to encumber the page with references. One
characteristic illustration may be supplied. Apollonius of Tyana is
represented by his biographer Philostratus as asking an Athenian
ship-owner what his freight was, and being told in reply, that it was a
cargo of idols, some of gold and marble and some of gold and ivory,
which was being shipped to Ionia to be sold to any one who would
buy a statue to dedicate. It may be remarked that Philostratus,
whose work, in its mixture of romance and philosophy, bears a con-
siderable resemblance to the Recognitiones of Clement, often throws
light on the manners and opinions of his time.
The same Philostratus speaks of altars to " unknown deities " as
existing at Athens : Pausanias mentions altars with a similar inscrip-
tion at Phalerum, a port of Athens, and at Olympia. The fact
therefore is sufficiently attested, and the reason of it is not far to
seek. Whenever any extraordinary portent occurred, which was
attributed to supernatural interference, some expiation was con-
sidered necessary ; as in the case of the Bidental set, up in Italy,
where a thunderbolt had fallen ; and it is plain from very numerous
passages in Livy, that it was a main part of the duty of the Pontifices
and religious colleges to determine the name of the god who had
made his power felt, and to prescribe the right mode of propitiation.
Sometimes, as in the case of Aius Locutius, they named the god
from his presumed act : or, being quite at fault, they used the saving
clause sive deo sive dece, as the Greeks used the a^vwajw 6ew or as
Epimenides advised, t^' 7rpoc7)jKnurt. 6eiv. On the same principle a
woman imprecating curses on her rival appeals thus to the deities of
the hot spring : "uti vos aquae ferventes, sive vos Nimfas (Nymphas)
sive alio quo nomine vultis appellari, uti vos eam interimatis."
(Inss. Urbis Rom. 141.) And in other cases a similar clause is
used, to make sure of including the object of vengeance; as coroners'
281 2 A
Mar. 6J SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [iSSS.
juries give a verdict against a person or persons unlcnown, and
indictments state the aliases of the accused.
St. Paul would find the physique of the Athenians greatly de-
generated from the t}'pes preserved in the frieze of the Parthenon.
Cotta, one of the interlocutors in Cicero's dialogue on the Nature of
the gods, expresses his surprise that, when he was at Athens, out of a
whole batch of Ephebi, there would be scarcely one of fine form. But
their most strongly-marked mental characteristic, their curiosity and
idle desire to hear some new thing, on which their greatest orator had
rallied them, and to which St. Luke refers, remained unchanged. Ac-
cording to Menander (Frag. Georg., 9), if you talked to an Athenian
slave in the country, he would leave off digging and tell you the exact
terms of the last treaty. Plutarch describes the talk of the crowds
which pushed their way through the bazaars and harbours. First
there was the old question, "What news?" and then the rejoinder,
" Why ? Were you not at the Agora this morning ? Do you think
there has been a new constitution within the last three hours ? "
St. Paul, according to the Acts of the Apostles, disputed with
the Jews in the Synagogue. Among the Attic inscriptions (Inss.
Att. ^Etatis. Romanae, 404) is the Septuagint version of the 20th
verse of the 11 8th Psalm, aln^ y 7rr\rj rod KVjiiov' SiKUtot elaeKevaovKii
eV alnrj : " This is the gate of the Lord ; the righteous shall enter
into it." It is tempting to imagine that St. Paul might have passed
under this very stone. The supposition is not absolutely impossible,
particularly as another Jewish inscription is found (Inss. Att. 3546),
Kinnpijinoi' {sic) QcocovXav kcil Mwrrt'a'v, surmounted by a representa-
tion of the seven-branched candlestick. But the editor refers to
five or six Syrian inscriptions, which repeat the quotation from the
Septuagint with very slight variations, and are associated with
Christian inscriptions of a date long subsequent to Apostolic times.
There are also similar Christian inscriptions at Athens.
The philosophers of Athens are summarised as Stoics and Epi-
cureans. It may excite a momentary surprise that, in the birth-
place of Plato and the literary home of Aristotle, no mention should
be made of the Academy or the Peripatetics. But in fact this
mode of description is one of the minute touches which identify the
writer with his times. The sects specified were at the opposite ends
of the scale, and so comprehended all intermediate varieties. The
Epicureans were practically atheists, though they would have dis-
claimed the title, whereas the stoic principles were rooted in religion.
282
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
It soon became apparent that the point at which the opposing philo-
sophies joined issue was the providence of the gods. This might be
called the question of the day, and was, moreover, practically brought
into prominence by the Roman state system of auspices and auguries,
as may be seen in Cicero's treatises on Divination, the Nature of the
Gods, and Fate; and in fact throughout his philosophical writings.
In reference to this absorbing question, Plutarch (Mor. p. 420) and
Quinctilian (Inst. Or. v, 7, 35 ; vi, 3, 68) are satisfied with naming
the two extreme sects. St. Luke therefore in classifying philosophers
as Epicureans and Stoics, adopted the language of contemporary
literati ; and St. Paul, when he made the providence of God the
main argument of his speech, was addressing himself to the question
which most of all exercised the intellect of his time.
The doctrine of Divine Providence of course pervades both Testa-
ments, but the word wpovoui is not found in that sense in the Christian
scriptures. According to Diogenes Laertius it was first used by Plato ;
it passed into Latin in the form of Providentia — the title of a well-
known treatise of Seneca. Providence is one of the words which,
like heresy, Christianity has borrowed from ancient philosophy.
There are some very strange relations between these sects and
Christianity. The Stoics held an opinion curiously similar to the
extreme view of conversion. They asserted that one who had
attained wisdom could do no wrong ; but that, short of that
standard, he could do nothing that was right. The attainment was
absolute and instantaneous. The figure which they used, of a man
in the water, precluded all possibility of mistake as to their meaning.
If his head were ever so little above the level, he was safe ; if it were
below it, he was in equal danger of death whether he were within a
cubit of the surface or sunk five hundred fathoms deep.
The opposite sect is connected in a very unexpected manner
with the history of religion. In the Mishna (" Barachoth," 9, 5,
De Sola's translation) the following passage occurs: "All the
blessings pronounced in the Temple concluded with the set form,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from eternity. But since the
Epicureans perversely taught there is but one state of existence, it
was directed that men should close their benedictions with the form,
from eternity to eternity. It was moreover directed, that every man
should greet his friend by the name of the Lord ; as it is said, And
behold Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers. The
Lord be with you ; and they answered him. The Lord bless thee."
283 2 A 2
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCII.EOLOGY. [iSS8.
So tliat in the concluding words of the T.ord's Prayer, "for ever
and ever," and in the famihar form of flirewell, "Good-bye" or
God be with you, there is a latent protest against the Epicureans of
old. And though their name has become obsolete, their philosophy
survives in cosmical theories which have now so much vogue.
It is a curiosity of religious history that such irreconciliable
antagonists should have been sometimes coupled together both by
Jews and Gentiles. According to Buxtorf the Jews in their prayers
protested against the Epicureans, meaning thereby the Christians.
Lucian again describes the impostor Alexander as warning off
Epicureans and Christians from his pretended oracles ; the former,
because of their unmitigable rigour of investigation, and the latter
obviously for a similar reason (Lucian, Alex,, 17, 29, 38, 44). This
is a strong external evidence that the early Christians were not
regarded as credulous and as ready followers of cunningly devised
fables, but that they had the credit of acting up to their principle of
proving, or testing all things.
The actual speech delivered by St. Paul on Mars' Hill may in two
ways move a scrui)le in the mind of the reader. First, he may have
a feeling that the Areopagus was by this time an effete institution ;
and secondly, the discursive character of the address may seem
inconsistent with the proverbially strict procedure of the court.
Both scruples can be completely met from existing evidence.
Numerous inscriptions are found at Athens beginning thus : The
Council of Areopagus, the Council of the five hundred and the
Peoj:)le : 'H BovXij ?y e^ 'Aficiou ttc'i^jou kcu y Roi'Xjy tuw Trti'TUKoaiwv OX
L^aicoatwv kcu 6 o/y/(os\ The Athenians adopted this style in their
decrees, and were so addressed by the Roman Emjjerors. This was
as much the national designation of the Athenians as the Senatus
Populusque Romanus was of the Roman Republic.
The respect in which the court was held is shown by an anecdote
to be found in Aulus Ciellius and other authors. Some time after
the year 67 i;.c., a woman of Smyrna was accused before Dolabella
of having poisoned her husband and son. She admitted the fact,
but pleaded in justification that they had murdered the son whom she
liad had by a former husband. Dolabella, to relieve his perplexity,
remitted the cause to the Areopagus at Athens. The Areopagites
jjronounccd the woman guilty, and ordered her to appear for sentence
on the. same day a hundred years afterwards. Plutarch, in discussing
the question whether an old man should retire from public life,
284
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
speaks of the offices of Amphictyon and Areopagite as dignities
worthy of any man's ambition. (Plutarch, An Seni, &c., p. 704.)
It appears to have been the fashion of the time for men who affected
culture and philosophy to withdraw from politics. Plutarch ener-
getically combats such a disposition ; but, at the same time, in a
most instructive passage (Plutarch, Mor., p. 813), he describes
the conditions under which office must be sought and administered.
The aspirant is reminded that if he rules, he is at the same time ruled,
and that his head is under the heel of the Roman government. It
is idle to attempt to fix the limits between Roman and provincial
jurisdiction. The Romans did not define the limits, and plainly did
not choose that any such definition should be made. Sometimes, as
in the case of Dolabella before-mentioned, it was convenient to
disembarrass themselves of a troublesome cause by referring it to
local courts, but at any hint of interference with matters of high
policy, the tortoise was peremptorily warned to keep its head within
its shell. Thus Pilate was willing to throw upon the Jews the respon-
sibility of condemning our Saviour, until the alleged assertion of royalty
made the matter one of imperial concern. The cry which mainly
decided his course, " If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's
friend,' is illustrated by an inscription found at Kertch in the Crimea :
Bn(Tt\ev9 KoTvi (piXoKatffap Kal (piXo/jto/uLaio^ Ring Cotys, friend of Csesar,
friend of the Romans (Boeckh., Corp. Inss. 2168 ; see also 2123).
The second suggested difficulty, the nature of St. Paul's speech,
is set at rest by a piece of evidence almost unique in its interest and
directiness of application. Five fragments of Hymettian marble have
been discovered at Athens containing a long and sadly mutilated
inscription (Inss. Atticae, Vol. Ill, p. 55). There is not, I believe, a
single complete sentence, but that the fragments are parts of a speech,
is beyond question. The speach is addressed to a (3ov\y, afterwards
referred to in the words roSoe tov aovecp/ov. The editor. Professor
Dittenberger of Berlin, who makes no reference to the Acts of the
Apostles, pronounces this Council to be that of the Areopagus, and
decides that the speech was of an apodeictic character, not a forensic
accusation or defence. Neither of these conclusions would probably
be disputed by competent scholars.
One passage can be restored with absolute certainty, being a
quotation of two well-known lines of Homer :
fX^pos yep poi Ke7vos opcos 'Aei'Sao TrvXrjcn,
OS x'erepov pev Kevdrj iv'i (ppecrlv, liWo 8e etTTrj.
285
Mbr. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
" Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one
thing in his heart and speaks another."
The speech was, as the editor suggests, probably made by one
of the Ephebi at the end of his year of tutelage. The young gentle-
man and his friends must have considered the speech to be a good
and successful one, and well adapted to its audience ; or the expense
of engraving it on marble would not have been incurred.
The case stands thus : Two speeches before the Areopagus are
preserved. Both of these are non-forensic : each contains a quota-
tion from a well-known Greek poet. The correspondence between
the two is so close that it seems as if one must have been designed
to corroborate and illustrate the other. But it is impossible that
two witnesses can be more completely distinct and independent.
To enter into further detail would probably weary the Society.
But they are asked to bear in mind that this small portion of a very
wide subject is quite insufficiently discussed. The rigorous com-
pression of this most thoughtful speech yet finds room to deal with
the most vital and the most hotly discussed questions of philosophy.
Pages of quotations might be given in reference to each of the
several particulars. A short summary will indicate what is intended.
That God made the world, that men are his offspring, touches the
Platonic theory of creation, which had become the common property
of various sects ; that He needs nothing, suggests the philosophic
(ivT(ii}Kci(i, or avTOTisXeia, the self-sufficiency of the Deity ; that God is
not far from each one of us, accords with the noblest development
of ancient thought, the firm and eloquently expressed conviction of
the indwelling of a divine spirit in the heart of man. The belief in
a judgment to come, which was the basis of Egyptian religion, and
also of the Pythagorean metempsychosis, passed through mythology
into the minds of the people of the West, and became a fixed idea,
which many philosophers accepted, and with which all had to
reckon ; and, lastly, repentance is enforced in a Greek Pilgrim's
Progiess in language that would not be out of place in a modern
sermon.
The passage chosen is, as might be expected, particularly rich
in allusions ; but throughout the New Testament there are points
of connection with the thought and history of the period ; and
unless that connection is taken into account, the full meaning of
the text will not be realized.
286
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
SUPPLEMENTx\RY NOTES TO THE "NOTES ON THE
PEOPLES OF THE SEA," etc.
{See ''Proceedings" Vol. X, 1888,/. 147.)
By Max Muller.
Having written the notes on the interesting maritime peoples
of the XlXth and XXth Dynasties, principally about the question of
their alleged circumcision, I found afterwards that I might have
spared the whole philological discussion with its various indirect
references, and proved my explanations of the difficult passages of
Mernptah's great inscription in a very simple way. I hope I may
be excused for overlooking the following important passage, because
it seems to be equally unnoticed by all Egyptologists who have
written upon the same subject. Perhaps there are also other
passages in the representations of wars with the Libyans, but for
the moment I can consult only the sculptures of JMedinet Habu,
which are published in "Young's Hieroglyphics."
Here we find, on plate 15, the king Ramses HI, in his chariot
triumphing over the Libyans. Behind him prisoners are led, and
officers or scribes are seen arranging the trophies in heaps or noting
down their numbers. Here the trophies are both phalli and hands,
which may suggest the conjecture that the marked separation of
the Libyans and the other peoples in the list of Mernptah may
perhaps depend more upon the practical aim to distinguish easily
the two great classes of enemies, than upon any religious considera-
tions, for the Libyans might have been mutilated in the same way
as their allies. As has already been said, only Libyans sometimes
lose their phalli, but also these not regularly; commonly (for
example of the Kahak's* r— i in the life of Aahmose-pen-
tiuxbef, Lepsius, Aiis%i<ahl^ 14, LD IH, 43a, ZeitscJirift f. iig. Sprache,
1883, 78, line 6), the hands are mentioned.
* Here, I must ask, why always is repeated so obstinately : " the people of
dmu-kahak" ? The above-mentioned officer tells in his life: "I took as booty
for him (the king) in the north of (the town of) Amu: A a/;a/i'j, three hands. "
That we have here the name of the Egj'ptian town is most clearly proved by the
lately discovered statue with the orthography O [sic) ^ © for the 0 V^, Yi i
of the other copies. That the name Kahak forms no plural is quite regular
in the Neo-Empire. This Libyan tribe had, as we see, made irruptions in the
Western Delta, and was defeated there and not in its own country.
287
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iSSS.
The inscription, four times repeated, above the scribes, who
note the number of slain enemies, is, after some faults have been
corrected by comparison of the three texts :
W
/-^-^v'VNA
A
I I I
©
A^A/^AA
" Bringing the booty before his Majesty from the enemies of Libya,
made from 3,000 men, amounting to 3,000 hands, amounting to
3,000 qa-ra-}ia-ia"
Nothing can be plainer. Qariiat cannot designate anything
else than the represented phalli, and all the old explanations by
(5^XoOTe nSli^. "^c., are refuted.*
Unfortunately the imperfect drawings and their small size do
not enable us to prove also the marks of circumcision. But I hope
the appeal to travellers in Egypt will not rest unheard, and that the
original monuments will be examined to settle the point.
For the word qarnat I must add that once (line 55 of
Mernptah's text) it is written —
vi.q^]
cja - ra - na - au - ta
that is jl'i^")^. This form shows that (p-nt is really a Semitic plural
t';
with jTi") as has been supposed by several Egyptologists. As a
certain example for the value "1, <? of [j_p an, it is doubly precious.
]}ut, I must add, this value is the best ])roof of the strange
circumstance that the syllabic system formed its rules more after an
s * Also the explanation of Chabas is proved to be not quite correct : the
crotum is «<?/ separated.
288
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
arbitrary conventionality than according to the traditional ortho-
graphy, and that thus it is sometimes quite opposed to the
pronunciation in pure Egyptian words. Thus, the Neo-Egyptian
pronunciation of [j _p citi follows always that of the auxiliary verb
ciu^ which was, according to the variants, the same as in Demotic
and Coptic : e, e, e. In no Egyptian word that of 6 is proved. We
see how dangerous it is to deduce conclusions from one system to
the other, although of course they do not always diverge so strongly
as in the present instance.
Another addition, which is suggested by the small inscription
above mentioned, is the explanation of the strange expression :
\A\h..U .^.nlt' "-54. ".heirpaln,s(?)of
hand."
r\ n kp (r|3), denotes here a particular hand, certainly the
right. We see also in all other inscriptions that one hand only was
always counted, and we can easily guess that it was the right hand —
the symbol of the warrior's strength. The determinative (<;Sx]) is o
no great value in this and other cases, and also our representation,
in which we find, apparently, partly left and partly right hands ; for,
apart from the possibility of carelessness of the modern copyists, the
Egyptian artist was always in great embarrassment with regard to the
hands, the inside or palm of which he was unable to draw. There-
fore, here, when he wished to represent irregular heaps, he could not
follow only one direction, but dispensed with the superfluous
accuracy of drawing only right hands. The above mentioned
expression can after all only designate : " their right (hands of their)
hands.^^
Considering the enormous historical importance of the celebrated
inscription of Mernptah, I have considered that it would be useful
to communicate even these small additions towards its explanation
as quickly as possible, in the hope that the principal thesis of the
remarks lately published will soon be examined and discussed by
other Egyptologists.
* Dumichen : ^— -tTi' fl lI ' .
289
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY,
INSCRIPTIONS OF NEBUCHADREZZAR II.
III. — The Cylinder of Mr. Rich.
\_Cuneiforin Insc7-iptions of Western Asia, /, 52, No. 4.]
By Rey. C. J. Ball.
Tra n script ion . Tra nsJa tion.
D, na-l)i-u"'-ku-du-ur-ri-u-(,!U-ur Nebuchadrezzar,
the king of Babylon,
the good, the humble,
worshipper of the mighty gods,
the p07itiff supreme,
the finisher of Esagilla
sar ba-bi-la" ki
a-as-ru sa-ah-ti
pa-li-ih dimmer-gal-gal
5 PA-TE-si (;i-i-ri
za-ni-in e-sag-illa
u e-zi-da
DU d. na-bi-u^-iBiLA-u-c^u-ur
Sar ba-bi-la"" ki
10 a — na — ku
id li-bi-al hi-gal
pa-al-ga d. utu-e
ba-bi-la™ ki
§a ul-tu u-um ri-e-ku-tu
15 in-na-mu-u-ma
§i-ih-ha-at is-hi-a
iz-za-an-nu-u-ma
im-lu-u sa-ki-ki
a-sa-ar-sa
20 as-te-'e-e-ma
ul-tu gu id-ud-kip-nun
a-di a-a-i-bu-ur-ga-bu-u""
and Ezida,
the son of Nabopalassar,
King of Babylon,
am I.
Libil-hcgalla,
the canal of the sunrising
of Babylon,
which from days remote
had gone to decay, and
with subside7ice of earth
was choked ttp, afid
rubbish filled
its bed,
J looked to ; and
from the bank of the river of
Sepharvaim,
to Aa-ibur-shabu,
Notes.
3. Aim: contracted from (Uirii, ptcp. I, l o^ a^arii = ~)"*^ Ileli. (The initial
sign is ^*~, which is to be read a : see S*. Col. iii, 26. In Phillipps' Cyl. Ill, 5,
which I had no opportunity of correcting in sheet, the first word is a-as-ra-at ;
consequently the word " oracle " should be omitted from the translation.)
iahti : for *Sahitu, *ftaljitu ; ptcp. I, 1 of Salxltu, "to sink down," "bow
oneself." Cf. Ileb. T\TVZ\ TWVS', nVi^', to which ^21X3 is probably related, as
meaning " to strike down," and so " to slaughter,"
290
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
15. innatml : niphal impf. (iv, i) of nam/i, "to fall," "go to ruin," of
buildings ; Bors. I, 31 ; for the qal, see Senk., I, 14.
16. Sihhahi : R. Jin^, " to sink down," as in Heb.
Is-Hl-A : ideogram for SAGAR-MEs, t.e., epiri, eprdti, (ni"l2y, Prov. viii, 26),
" dust," " earth."
izzanmt: impf. iv, I of zattdntt, " to fill." Hence prob. zdnimi, the pctp. I, i,
is to be explained as " he who fills up what is lacking," " finishes " or " perfects "
buildings.
18. sakiki: or "rubbish:" cf. Arab. , ' ^_,, "to close or stop up," "fasten a
door." We might also compare Heb. 1DL*', "to sink down." But the term is
perhaps more nearly related to sukku, "bank," Col. II, 4, which itself is a syn. of
tilu, "mound." Sakiki thus answers to our term "sandbanks."
21. Gu : ahil, kisadii, "bank," "shore."
Transcription. Translation.
i-na EsiR-E-A zvith bitumen
u SIB AL-UR-RA and kilti-brick
ab-na-a / rebuilt
su-uk-ki-sa its banks.
5 i-na a-a-i-bu-ur-sa-bu-u"" At Aa-ibur-s/idbu,
su-li-e KA-DiMMER-RA-Ki the caiiseway of Babylon.,
a-na ma-as-ta-ha for the road
be-ili ra-bi-i™ d. mardug of the great lord Merodach,
ti-tu-ur pa-al-ga a bridge of the canal
10 ak-zu-ur-ma I constructed., and
u-sa-an-ti-il raised
ta-al-la-ak-ti the ivay.
D. mardug be-ili ra-bi-u Merodach, great Lord !
as-sa at-ta for thy part
15 na-ap-li-is-ma behold thou, and
ba-la-ta™ da-er-a long life.,
se-bi-e li-it-tu-ti enough of children.,
ku-un Gis-GU-ZA stability of tJirone.^
u la-ba-ar and length
20 pa-li-e of reign.,
a-na si-ri-iq-ti for a boon
su-ur-qa'" bestow Thou!
Notes.
I. EslR-E-A : iddu, "asphalt ; " ^ aui^aXToq, Hdt. I, 179. I have unfortunately
written "gypsum" instead of "bitumen" or "asphalt," for tlie Babylonian
kiiprii, in my renderings of the India House Inscr. and Phillipps' Cylinder.
291
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [i8S8.
3. abiiA : the form taken by the aorist before an accusative of the object.
4. sii/.'ki : Y>^\.\r. o{ sid-kii, "fence" or "bank," .S'= 30: DU \y^[ su-ukku.
Cf. Heb. lib', " to hedge in," and "]3D hiphil, " to shut in," "enclose."
9. titur: Stat, constr. of ttturii, Tahnudic XliriTI. Tigl. IV, 69, pkir.
titnrrdti ; Sarg. Khors. 129, tittiri-i. The root is not tdrii, as Ilaupt suggests,
but atdrii, = *watdrii, "ifl"'- Cf. Arab. „^ " to string a bow " ; II, id. ; and the
Heb. in^, " bowstring," Ps. xi, 2. The word titurn, therefore, means lit.
"span," and refers to the spanning of the water by the bridge. For the Heb.
form, cf. WVT\ from ^"V. It is not essentially different from that of D''pTrtDn,
Dnnon, etc.
14. aSSn — ana sa ; cf. aSSii. Lit. "in regard to thyself."
22. Surqa^^ : the recurring phrase ana Siriqti Surqa'^ proves that Surqamtna is
the right transcription in the India House Inscr. I, 72 ; see my note on the ])assage,
Proceedings, Dec, 18S7.
INSCRIPTIONS OF NEBUCHADREZZAR 11.
IV. A CYLINDER FROM BaBYLON,
[i R. 52, No. 3.]
Transcription.
D. na-bi-u^-ku-du-ur-ri-u-^u-ur sar ka-dimmer-ra-ki
ru-ba-a-a'" na-a-da'" i-tu-ut ku-un li-ib-bi D. mardug
ri-e-a-u'" ki-i-nu'"
mu-us-te-si-ir as-ra-a-ti D. na-bi-u'"
5 mu-ti-ib li-ib-bi-su-un
is-sa-ak-ku ^ii-ri
sa a-na zi-in-na-a-ti e-sag-illa u e-zi-da
ii-mi-sa-a™ ti-is-mu-ru-u-ma
da-am-ga-a-ti ka-dimmer-ra-ki u ba-ar-zi-pa--(7
10 is-te-ni-'u-u ka-a-a-na™
e-im-ga mu-ut-ni-en-nu-u
za-ni-in e-sag-illa u e-zi-da
iBiLA SAG-KALA sa D. nabiu'"-II!ILA-U-('U-Ur
sar KA-DIMMER-RA-KI a-na-ku
15 i-nu-u™ D. mardug be-ili ra-bi-u i-lu ba-nu-u-a
ki-ni-is ib-ba-an-ni-ma
da-am-ga-a-ti ali-su ka-dimmer-ra-ki
ra-bi-iS u-ma-'i-ir-an-ni
a-na-ku a-na D. mardug be-ili-ia
20 ka-a-a-na-ak la ba-at-ka-ak
292
Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
sa e-li-sa ta-a-bu
ud-da-ak-ku La na-pa-ar-ka-a
i-ta-ma-am li-ib-ba-a'"
i-na KUBABBAR GUSKIN ni-si-iq-ti™ na na su-ku-ru-u-ti'"
25 e-ra-a Gis mis-ma-kan-na gis erini"'
mi-im-ma su-um-su su-ku-ru su-un-tu-la'"
la ba-sa-a hi-si-ih-ti'"
e-sag-illa az-nu-un-ma
sa-as-si-is u-sa-pa-a sa-ru-ru-u-su
Translation.
Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylofi,
The prince exalted, the called of the trueheartedness of Alcrodach,
The faithful shepherd,
That order eth aright the holy -places of Neb 0,
5 That rejoiceth their heart ;
The potitiff supreme,
Who for the finishings of Esagilla and Ezida
Daily was careful, and
The good of Babylon afid Borsippa
10 Seeketh after steadfastly :
The sage, the self- humbling,
The finisher of Esagilla and Ezida,
The chief est son of Nabopalassar
King of Babylon, am I.
1 5 Whe7i Merodach, great lord, the god my maker.
Had faithfully called me, and
With the good of his city Babylon
Greatly had charged me,
I to Merodach my lord
20 Was faithful, I was not idle ;
What to it (? him) was pleasing
Day by day without ceasing
The heart prescribed.
With silver, gold, glitter (?) of precious stones,
25 Bronze, palm-wood, cedar.
Whatever is precious (and ) esteemed,
— There was no lack — ■
Esagilla I finished, and
Like the sun I made its brightness to shine.
293
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [1888.
Notes.
7. zinn&ti: I now regard this word as derived from zan&nu, " to fill," " fulfil,"
"finish."
9. damg&ti: "good things yj?;- Babylon," or "good deeds /awards Babylon :"
an objective genitive.
18. lima'' i ran ni : impf. Ii, i (pacl) : c. siiff. i pers., from mani, via'drii, "ino;
" to send," and " commission," "charge," " order."
20. batlak : perf. I, I oi batdlit, " to leave off," "be idle," ?D3 (Aram.).
23. itainain: i.e., iiania^, from taniil, "to say," "bid." If the final vi were
radical, the term might be pres. I, 2 (Iphteal) o{ amamu ; for *yahtd/ii»ia/ii ; if.
V versavit rem aiuid animum, de eo cogitavit soUicito animo ; also Heb. HDn.
\
27. liisihti'" : cf. hiSahha, "want," Tigl. VIII, 85; haSahic, "to desire;"
%r. l^xlLM "use," "need."
29. SaSsiS : This term has long been a puzzle. It is an adverbial form
from Sansu — SamSii, "the sun." Both Nabopalassar and Nebuchadrezzar use
the form SaSSu for samsu, and Sanherib has the phrase salam san-si, "the
setting of the sun." Thus we have the regular transition : samsu, SatiSu, SaSsii,
adv. SaSsiS ; cf. kakkabiS, "like the stars;" iiannaris "like the moon."
uSapa: impf. shaphel (ill, i) of rt/// = n2'' ; </• VD''-
Transcription.
E-zi-DA u-sa-ak-li-il-ma
ki-ma si-di-ir-ti'" sa-ma-mi AN-nim
im-gu-ur d-en-lil u ni-mi-it-ti" D. en-lil
BADA BADA GAL GAL sa KA-DLMMER-RA-KI US-tC-si-ir-ma
5 ka-a-ri hi-ri-ti-su i-na ku-up-ri u a-gur-ri
sa-da-ni-is ab-ni-ma
ERi-Ki a-na ki-da-a-ni™ u-sa-as-hi-ir
ri-i-mu e-ri-i e-iq-du-u-ti™
u 91R-RUS <;iR-RUs se-zu-7Ai-u-ti'"
10 i-na KA-GAL KA-GAL-su u-us-zi-iz-ma
ERI-KI KA-DiMMER-RA-Ki a-na ta-ab-ra-a-ti"' u-se-c-bi
ni-(;i-ir-ti'" e-sag-illa u ka-dimmer-ra-ki aS-te-hi-e-ma
i-na tu-ur-ri e-li-i sa ka-gal d. is-ta-ar
is-tu kisadi nari ud-kip-nun-ki a-di mi-hi-ra-at ka-gal
15 i-ta-a-at eri-ki a-na ki-da-a-ni'"
ha-al-(ji ra-bi-ti™
i-na EsiR-£-A u sib al-ur-ra ab-ni-ma
i-si-is-sa mi-hi-ra-at ap-si-i
i-na su-pu-ul mi-e bi-e-ru-ti'" u-sa-ar-si-id
294
Mar. 6] TROCEEDINGS. [iSSS.
20 ri-e-si-su sa-da-ni-is u-za-ak-ki-ir
ma-a(^-9a-ar-ti'" na-ak-li-is u-da-an-ni-in-ma
ERi-Ki KA-DiMMER-RA-Ki a-na ni-^i-ir-ti'" as-ku-un
D. mardug be-ili ra-bi-u
li-bi-it ga-ti-ia
25 a-na da-mi-iq-ti'" ha-di-is na-ap-li-is-ma
da-am-ga-a-tu-u-a li-is-sa-ak-na sa-ap-tu-uk-ka
i-na pi-i-ka el-lu sa la na-ka-ri
i-bi a-ra-ku u-mi-ia
ki-bi li-it-tu-u-ti
30 i-na ki-bi-ti-ka 9i-ir-ti™ sa la su-bi-e-lu
a-a i-si na-ki-ri mu-ga-al-li-tu a-a ar-sa-am.
Translation.
Ezida I completed, ajid
Like the host of the heavens of Anu
Imgurbel and Nimittibel
The great ramparts of Babylon I put in order, and
5 The walls of its moat ivith bitumen and kihi-brick
Like mountains L built, and
The capital for defence I carried them round.
Massy bulls of brotize,
And serpents huge, erect,
10 In its gates I set up, and
The capital Babylon for gazings I made splendid.
The fortifications of Esagilla and Baby lo7i I looked to, afid
At the high tower (?) of the gate of Ishtar,
From the bank of the River of Sepharvaim to the front of the
gate,
15 On the flanks of the capital, for cover,
A mighty buhvark
With bitumen and kibi-brick I built, and
Its foundatio7i, confronting the depth.
At the bottom of the clear ivaters I laid.
20 Its top like the mountains I reared.
The defence cunningly I strengthened, and
The capital Babylon I made a stronghold.
Merodach, great lord.
The work of my hands
25 For good joyfully behold thou, and
295
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [iSSS.
May good tilings for me he brougJit to pass by thy command !
With thy glorious mouth, 7vhich is irresistible.
Announce the leng;thening of my days,
Command offspring !
30 By thy supreine command, which cujinot he overcome,
May I own not a foe, adversary 7nay I have notie /
Notes.
2. Sidirtit : r/I n~l"|L" " rank " of soldiers ; 2 Kings viii, 15 (plur.). Perhaps
rather Sitirtu ; cf. Ar. satr, " a line," " row " (of trees, or buildings).
13. turru : cf. "l-IFI, ^] "to go round." I only conjecture the meaning of
the word.
16. halfti ; see Sanherib, Taylor Cyl. Col. iii, 21, where the term is used of
siege-works. Cf. f-vH "armed;" Deut. iii, 18 ; Isa. xv, 4.
18. iSissa = iSidsa = iSid + Sa.
apsH : the well-known equivalent of Sumerian AB-zu, the abyss of ocean,
the AiraTuiv of Damascius.
19. deru : "Viright," "translucent," "transparent:" cf. T'llB "bright,"
Job xxxvii, 21 ; Syr. 3(713 " to shine."
25. Cf. Nehemiah's frequent prayer: " Remember me, O my God, for good !"
(ch. xiii, 14, 31).
26. Or, " May my good deeds become thy talk!" Saptti, "lip," may mean
either "speech" (Gen. xi, i) or "command."
27. Sil Id nahari: "which it is not (for any) to oppose:" like lA Samhiti, "un-
rivalled," lit daJie, "unapproachable." So in 1. 30 infra, ssi la Subehi (infin.
shaphel o{ Iniu, 7^3), " which it is not (for any) to master."
30. ina kihitika cirti^'^ : This shows that in the India House Inscr. Col. X, I
we should read ki-bi-tu-uk-ka, " By thy command :" seemynote (/V^^r., Dec, 1887).
31. arSd'^: l R. has limtalli. The character Sa is nearly obliterated on the
cylinder. For the phrase, see Ind. House Inscr. X, 16, tnugalliii aa arSi.
V. — The Cylinders from Senkereh.
[i R. 51. No. 2.]
Transcription.
D. na-hi-u'"-ku-(lu-ur-ri-ti-(;u-ur sar ka-dimmer-ra-ki {v. I. D.
nabiu"'-ku-dur-ri-u-(,'ur)
as-ri ka-an-su mu-ut-ni-en-nu-u
pa-li-ih EN EN-EN
za-ni-in {v. I. nin) e-sag-ii.la u e-zi-da
296
Mar. 6] TROCEEDINGS. [iSSS.
5 iiiiLA ki-i-ni sa D. nabiu™-iBiLA-u-our
sar KA-DiMMER-RA-Ki a-na;ku
i-nu(-u"') D. mardug en ra-bu-u
SI-GAL DiMMER-MEs mu-us-ta-ar-hu {v. I. mus-tar-hu)
ma-a-ti u ni-si"" {v. I. uku-]\ies)
10 a-na ri-'u-u-ti id-di-na
i-na {v. I. nu)-u-mi-su e-bar-ra
E dbimer-utu sa ki-ri-ib utu-unu-ki
sa is-tu u-mu (v. I. mi, um) ru-qu-u-ti
i-mu-u ti-la-ni-is
15 ki-ir (7'. /. kir)-bu-us-su ba-az-za {v. I. <ji) is-sa-ap (v. I. §ap)-ku-ma
la (u)-ud-da-a u-QU-ra-a-li
i-na pa-li-e-a en ra-bu-u d. mardug
a-na e su-a-ti
(i)-ir-ta-su sa-li-mu
20 iM iv-ba u-sa-at-(z/. /. sat)-ba-am-ma
SAGAR-MEs ki-ir {v. I. kir)-bi-su is-su-uh-ma
in-nam-ra u-9U-ra-a-ti
ia-a-ti d. nabiu™-ku-dur-ri-u-cur sar ka-dimmer-ra-ki
ri-e-su pa-li-ih-su
a-na e-bi-su {v. /.bis) e su-a-ti
Traiisiatioji.
I Nebuchadrezzar, khig of Babylon,
The good, the submissive, the pious,
The worshipper of the lord of lords.
The fi7iishcr of Esagilla and Ezida,
5 True son of Nabopalassar
King of Babylon, atn I.
When Merodach the great lord.
The gracious o?ie of the gods, the mighty.
Country and people
10 For shepherding had given ;
At that time, Ebarra,
The house of Shatnash, that is witJmi Ellasar,
Which from days 7-emote
Had fallen dotini in heaps,
15 Within zvhich the rubbish was piled (lit. poured out) and
Shoived net the walls ;
In my reign, the great lord Merodach
297 2 B
Mar. 6] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [i8S8.
To that house
She-iCed himself friendly ;
20 The four winds he caused to come, afid
The earth within it he tore aivay, ajid
The walls were seen.
Me, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon,
The servant, his worshipper.
To make that house
Notes.
10. iddiiia: this confirms the explanation oiiiina™, Pliillipps I, 10.
14. ijii^i: for *immu, *inmu ; impf. i, i of na/iin. The root is obscure, but
the sense certain : sec Lotz, Tigl., p. 175.
15. baffii: cf. the Heb. roots |^i*3 and J;^{3.
iSSapku: niphal impf (iv, i) ai Sapdkii ; for *isSapiku.
16. uddd: pael impf (11, i) of idu, J?"!*. The ruins concealed the outline of
the building ; cf. line 22.
ucurdti : plur. oi ucuTtii : R. IVJ?, "to shut in."
19. wViTAvi; impf. (i, 2) of rfliv?, r/C Ethiop. ^["iP; reddidit, exhibuit, 2 Cur.
vi, 4.
20. nxail'd : shaphel impf (ill, i) of tebi't ; cf. •i-jj.
22. innamra: niphal impf (iv, l) oiamdrii, "to see": 3 plur. fem.
24. rHu : see 5 R. 52, col. 4, 34. I do not think this is the same word as
resu, " head," but would rather compare the root raSi'/, "to possess"; so thai
reiu, "servant," " chattel," answers to the Greek /cr»}jua. Cf. 5 R. 34, col. I, 7 :
ibbtiSu ana reSiisuii, " (whom) they called to their service."
Col. II.
Transcription. Translation.
ra-bi-is u-ma-'i-ir-an-ni greatly he tirged me.
tc-me-en-su la-bi-ri Its old record
a-hi-it ab-ri-e-ma I sazv, inspected, and
e-li te-me-en-ni-su la-bi-ri over its old record
5 is-Hi-A el-lu-ti am-ku-uk-ma fiiie soil I shook, a?id
u-ki-in li-ib-na-as-sa fixed the bricks of it.
E-BAR-RA E ki-i-ni Ebarra, the etertial house,
su-ba-at (z;./.bat)D.UTube-ili-ia the seat of Shamash my lord,
a-na d. utu a-si-ib e-bar-ra forShamash,whodwellethinEbarra,
10 sa ki-ri-ib utu-unu-ki which is withi?i Ellasar,
EN ra-bu-u EX-ia lu e-bu-us ' the great lord, ??iy lord, I rebuilt.
D. UTU EN ra-bu-u Shamash, great lord I
2q8
Mar. 6] TROCEEDINGS. 1888.
a-na e-bar-ra su-bat be-lu-ti-ka into Ebarra^ the seat of thy lordship,
i-na hi-da-a-ti u ri-sa-a-ti with rejoici?igs and revels
1 5 i-na e-ri-bi-ka when thou enterest in,
li-bi(z'./. pi)-it ga-{vJ. qa)-ti-i-a the work of my piux hands
dam-ga('qa)-a-ti"(z'./. ti)
ha-di-is na-ap-li-is-ma with gladness behold thou, and
ba-la-at {v.l. tu) u-mes {v.l.mi) a life of far days,
ru-qu-u-ti
ku-un-nu gis-GU-za stability of throne,
20 la-ba-ar {vJ. ri) pa-li-e-a length (lit. oldness) of my reign,
li-is-sa-ki-in {v.l. kin) sa-ap- be brought to pass (by) thy word
{v.l. sap)-tu-uk-(z'./. tuk)-ka lit., lip)\
si-ip-pi (?'./. pa) si-ga-ri mi-ti-lu Alay the lintels, bars and bolt(s) of
{v.l. 11). Gis-GAL-MEs the gates
sa E-BAR-RA of Ebarra,
dam-ga-(z/./. qa)-tu-u-a my good deeds
25 la na-pa-ar-(^'./. par)-ka-a without ceasifig
li-iz-ku-ru ma-ha-ar-ka nientiofi before thee.' ,
Notes.
5. amhik : impf. i, i oi niaqdqu ; cf. Heb. and Chald. \>'\>'0.
6. libnassa : for *libnatsa, libnatisa. Libnati is plur. oi libittu {_— * libintu).
16. lipittti: elsewhere the phrase is epstt gdtta. With the root lapdtit, "to
apply oneself to," " turn to," a matter, cf. Heb. flD?.
17. naplis : niphal imperative (iv, i) oi palasii.
21. lisSakin : niphal precative oi Sakdmi. That Saptukka is a modal accusative,
like*l3"in in Ps. xvii, 13, appears from the parallel phrase, Bors. II, 30, liSSakm
ilia ptka.
22. He asks that the silent witness of the embellishments he has wrought in
the temple, may be accepted in his favour.
ERRATA.
Professor Oppert has called my attention to a translation by himself of the
Phillipps' Cylinder, published so far back as 1863, in his Exped. en JlTesopotamie,
a work which I had not seen.
I append some corrections of my last paper {Proceedings, Feb., 1888).
Col. I, 19: nuna™ i59uru d.p. summu pila simat appari"" ; "fish, fowl,
garlick, ///??, the ornament of the canal." (So II, 29 ; III, 13.) t=TTTt= is the deter-
minative of plants and herbs ; summu, the Heb. D''P-"m^. Whatever pfld may be,
it is probably a kind of fruit-bearing plant, which grew by the water, perhaps the
299
Mar. 0] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [iSS8.
water-melon. That appari'^ means " ditch," "canal," appears from an inscription
of Hammurabi. Cf. also the plur. in the jihrase nur agamme u apparate,
"swamps and canals." The root is 1211, jj.^ , "to dig." Sizbu, "milk," is
perhaps to be written Si(;pu, and compared with *^P " outpouring," "overflow."
If, however, Sizlm be right, the term may be connected with Ar. t— >;• "to
flow," from which root (3T^-D1T) the Chaldee ^^T^w is said to come.
I, 49 sq. : zarati kibri sa BADA DALUM Sa kima satu™ la uttaSSu ; " The cabins
of the edges of the great wall, which like a mountain cannot be scaled." The
cabins are, I think, the oiKij/jiaTa jiovvoKuiXa of Herodotus.
In II, 40, £,2, for e-u(r)-ra, 7-cad e-Par-ra.
C. J. Ball.
The Next Meeting of the Society will be held at 9,
Conduit Street, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesday, ist May,
1888, at 8 p.m.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
XLbc Bronse ©rnaments of tbe
palace Gates tiom JSalawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, II, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordance with the terms of the original prospectus, the price for
each part is now raised to ;^i los. ; to Members of the Society (the original
price) £1 IS.
Society of Biblical ARCHyEOLOOY.
COUNCIL, 1888.
President ;—
P. LE Page Renouf.
Vice-Presidents : —
Rev. Frederick Charles Cook, M.A., Caiion of Exeter.
Lord Halsbury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., &c.. Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart., D.C.L., ^LD., &c., &c.
J. Manship Norman, M.A.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson,, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury.
Council :
VV. A. Tyssen Amherst, M.P., &c.
Rev. Charles James Ball.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Gates.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, D.D.
Thomas Christy, F.L.S.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A.
Rev. Albert Lowy.
Rev. James Marshall.
F. D. Mocatta.
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
J. Pollard.
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
E. TowRY Whyte, M.A.
Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
Honorary Treasurer— Bernard T. Bosanquet.
Secretary — W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A.
Honorary Secretaiy for Foreign Correspondence — Prof. A. H. Sayce, ALA.
Honorary Librarian — Wjlliam SimI'SON, F.R.G.S.
IIAKKISON AMJ Slj.NS, lhl.\'lll>S IN (KlJlNyM<V To Ill-.K j\!AJK.-iTV, .si. .^r/.li^l^h lANh
VOL. X. Part 6.
PROCEEDINGS
THE SOCIETY
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
-S5&-
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION,
PART 6.
[APRIL. NO MEETING.]
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Prof. Lieblein. — Sur quelques Steles Kgypticnncs du Musee de
Boulaq 301 -304
S. Alden Smith. — Assyrian Letters. Vart IV {g />/ah's) 305-315
Robert Brown, Junr., F.S.A. — The Etruscan Inscription of
Lemnos {p/aie) 316 -328
#^«-
published at
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
188 8.
[No. LXXV.]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHyEOLOGY.
If, Hart Strki:!', Bloomsuury, W.C.
PRICE LIST OF TRAILS ACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
To MiiMnEus.
To NoN-
Mkmuers
S.
d.
s. d.
'ol. I, Part I
\Q
6
12 6
I, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
11, ,
, I
8
0
10 6
11, ,
, 2
8
0
10 6
III, ,
, I
8
0
10 6
„ HI, ,
, 2
S
0
10 6
IV, ,
I
10
6
12 6
IV, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
V, ,
I
12
6
15 0
V, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
VI, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
„ VI, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
,, VII, ,
, I
7
6
10 6
,, VII, ,
2
10
6
12 6
,, VII, ,
, 3
10
6
126
„ VIII, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
,, VIII, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
„ VIII, ,
, 3
10
6
12 6
IX, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
PROCEEDINGS.
k'dl. I, Sl
ssion
187
S-79
2
0
26
11,
187
3-80
2
0
26
III,
i88(
D-81
4
0
5 0
IV,
188
1-82
4
0
5 0
V,
188
2-83
4
0
5 0
VI,
188
3-84
5
0
60
,, VII,
188
4-85
5
0
60
„ VIII,
188
5-86
5
0
60
IX,
188
5-87
2
0 per Part
26
X,
188;
r-S8
2
0 ,, ,, in p
rogrcss 2 6
A few complete sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may be
obtained on application to the Secretary, W. II. Rylanus, F.S.A., 11, Hart
Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PROCEEDINGS
OK
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
Part 6.
\ApriI. No Meetmg.
Le Caire, io Janvier, 1888.
Cher Monsieur le Secretaire.
Pendant men sejour en Egypte cet hiver j'ai etudie les steles
egyptiennes du Musee de Boulaq. Permettez moi de vous envoyer
quelques notices de ces etudes.
I. Stele no. 163. Cette stele a ete dediee a Ptah-nofer qui porte
le titre.
M H "^^31 ' '""^"■^ Q Jiiena an n ptaJi.
Le mot ^——^ |1 a plusieurs significations d'apres les differents
determinatifs. Prenant une des significations connues on pourrait
traduire notre titre par : " I'immolateur, le sacrificateur de taureaux
du dieu Ptah." Mais je ne crois pas cette traduction correcte ; car
le determinatif ne porte pas un homme avec un couteau ^vft , mais
avec un baton dans la main ^ . II faut done chercher une autre,
une nouvelle signification.
II existe dans le dictionnaire copte un mot, dont on n'a pas
encore retrouve le prototype dans la langue hieroglyphique. C'est le
[No. Lxxv.] 301 2 c
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1888.
mot JULOOrte pascere, viener le bctail an pdturage, que je rapproche
de notre mot hieroglyphique vmia avec le determinatif : un homme
tenant un baton dans la main, puisqu'il est d'accord avec le deter-
minatif, et qu'il donne un sens bien convenable. Je traduis done
le titre, dont il s'agit ici, par : " Celui qui mene le betail de Ptah
au paturacfe," c'est-a-dire le pasteur du bctail de Ptah. Ce titre
correspond ainsi tant quant au son que quant au sens entierement au
mot compose copte JUL^.n Wd'X bourn pastor ; car JU.^-^, une
forme de JULOOrte , est le mot hieroglyphique H ^ vmia,
pasteur, et HOT est le mot hieroglyphique (j -^ "^j^ aU, faureau,
qui se trouve tant de fois dans les tombeaux des pyramides.
Par ce mot nous pourrons aussi expliquer le nom de peuple des
monuments egyptiens "^S. ] 1 men-ti : car ti est une termi-
naison, qui indique la personne, qui fait ce que la verbe signifie ;
men-ti veux done dire " le peuple pasteur," les Nomades. Je crois
ainsi, qu'on pent inscrire [1^ metia, copte JULOOIte, inener
le betail au patiirage, sans hesitation comme un nouveau mot dans
le dictionnaire hieroglyphique.
II. La stele no. 623 donne presque les memes personnes que la
stele no. 215, dont j'ai copie les noms il y a dix-huit ans. Ce qui est
curieux et que je veux relever ici, c'est que le nom, qui dans I'une
des stales est toujours ecrit ^ — ^ ;=^2^ titi avec la barque, est
constamment ecrit dans I'autre stele ^ — ^ ^^ fiti-fieSem,
d'ou resultc que la barque dans ce nom avait le son nesem. Dans la
langue egyptienne il y a plusieurs mots pour indiquer les differentes
especes de barques ; nesem signifie la barque sacree d'Abydos.
Cette barque etait employee dans les ceremonies religieuses, et elle
etait I'objet d'un culte special ; car j'ai trouve dans notre musee le
titre d'un pretre en second de la barque nesem.
III. Une stfele en grfes, achetee il y a deux ans a Louxor pour le
musee. Dans le registre superieur on voit la reine Aah-hotep et
derriere elle et I'embrassant la reine Sebekemsas. Cette disposition
des personnes indique generalement une parente intime. Dans le
texte au-dessous, ou la reine Aah-hotep est nommde la mere d'Ahmes,
premier roi de la XVIIP'"^ dynastic, le defunt Jouf, fils d'Arit,
raconte les evenements de sa vie. II nomme les differentes fonc-
April] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
tions qui lui ont ete conferees par la reine Aah-hotep et ci-apres
par la reine Aahmes, femme royale d'Amenhotep I. Parmi les
evenements du temps de la reine Aah-hotep il raconte ce fait
interessant : " J'ai renouvele ce tombeau de la reine Sebekemsas,
aprfes qu'il a ete trouve allant a la ruine."
Ce qui fait I'interet tout particulier de cette stele, c'est qu'elle
demontre une relation intime entre la reine Aah-hotep, mere
du fondateur de la XVIlP'n« dynastie, et la reine Sebekemsas,
I ^^ 1 ^ ( "sss- ^ °W^ \ qui sans aucun doute appartenait
a la famille des rois de la XIII^"'^ dynastie. On ne pourrait pas
nier cette relation ; car elle est clairement demontree et par la
maniere, dont les deux reines sont assises I'une aupres de I'autre, et
par le fait, que la reine Aah-hotep a fait restaurer le tombeau de la
reine Sebekemsas, lequel avait souffert probablement pendant la
guerre longue et acharnee entre les Hyksos et les rois thebains de la
XVII^'^e dynastie.
Mais cette relation acceptee, on ne peut pas admettre une
chronologie egyptienne, qui separe la XIII^'"'^ dynastie de la
XVIIP'"^ par un temps de sept ou cinq cents ans, comme quelques
savants distingues I'ont etablie, tandis qu'elle milite fortement en
faveur de mon opinion, emise depuis longtemps deja, que la fin
de la XIII^'"^ dynastie n'est se'paree du commencement de la
XVI I P""^ que par cent soixante-six ans. D'apres ma chronologie
Ahmes I est mort en 1490 a. J.-C, qui est I'an du commencement
de la XVIII'^'"^ dynastie ; car quoiqu'il fut le fondateur de cette
dynastie, ses annees de regne sont comptees dans celles de la
XVII^"*^ dynastie. Comme il est probable, qu'il est mort vieux,
age au moins de 60 — 70 ans, Aah-hotep, sa mere est nee environ
100 ans auparavant, c'est-a-dire a peu pres en 1600 a. J.-C. La
reine Sebekemsas, qui etait sa parente, la mere ou la grand-mere
ou quelque chose de pareil, pourrait done fort bien etre la fille
d'un Sebekemsaf, le dernier roi ou un des derniers rois de la
XI 11^"^ dynastie, qui d'apres ma chronologie fut depossedee par
les Hyksos en 1656 a. J.-C.
4. La stele No. 765 indique comme la stele precedente la
connexion de la XIII^""^ dynastie avec la XVIIP™^. Elle nomme Ju,
fonctionnaire d'un grade inferieur, sa mere Hunt, sa femme la fille
royale Hatas-tu, sa fille Neb-hes-ent et la femme royale Nefert, qui etait
la mere de sa femme. Mariette croyait que cette stele appartenait a
303 2 c 2
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHyEOLOGY. [iS88.
la XIIP"^^ dynastie, et il a sans doute raison, en tant (jue les femmes
nommees appartenaient d'apres toute vraisemblance a la famille des
derniers rois de la XIIP""^ dynastie. Car Hunt est le nom d'une
princesse de cette dynastie, de meme que le nom Hes-neb-nes, qui
n'est probablement qu'une variante du nom Neb-hes-ent de notre
stele. Aussi une autre consideration parle en faveur de I'opinion de
Mariette. Les princesses de la dite stele sont I'une la femme, I'autre
la belle-mere d'un fonctionnaire inferieur. Mais cette mesalliance
comment etait-elle possible? Parceque ces femmes vivaient apres
que le dernier roi de la XIII^"^^ dynastie avait ete detrone par les
Hyksos, de sorte qu'elles gardaient encore les titres, mais non pas la
puissance et la splendeur royales.
La connexion de nos personnes avec la XIIP""^ dynastie ainsi
etablie, nous allons voir, qu'elles etaient egalement en relation avec
la XVI I P'"^. La grande regente Hatasu de cette dynastie portait
le meme nom que la princesse de notre stele, probablement parce-
qu'elle appartenait a la meme famille, et que les rois de la XVIIP™'^
dynastie ont fait valoir leur descendance de I'ancienne XIII^""*^
dynastie pour demontrer leur legitimite.
Les personnes de notre stele, etant en rapport d'un cote avec
la XIIP'"^ dynastie et de I'autre avec la XVIII^"'^, ont done vecu
pendant les cent soixante six ans qui separent ces deux dynasties,
et ici de nouveau il est bien invraisemblable que la XIII^""^ et la
XVI I P™^ dynasties puissent etre separees par plusieurs dynasties
successives et legitimes et par un temps de sept ou cinq cents ans.
Votre tres devoue,
J. LIEBLEIN,
Professeur a V Univcrsitc dc Cliristiana, Noi-vige.
304
April] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
ASSYRIAN LETTERS. IV.
By S. Alden Smith.
It has been the aim of the notes accompanying the translation ■;
given in this series of Letters^ to discuss in the shortest manner
possible only such words as have not been elsewhere sufficiently
explained. This study has brought before the reader 35 new
documents, containing a variety of forms and words which will be
instructive and interesting to the student of Semitic philology. As
many more inscriptions of this class will be found translated and
explained in my Keilschrifttexte Asurbanipals, Heft II and III.
In this work a glossary of words is appended to aid the student.
In the absence of one here, I have thought it proper to call attention,
in a short space, to the most important new words and forms in the
foregoing documents.
1. Words that have been with some probabiUty explained.
The \soxdi par-su-ma-a-te, K. 482 {cf. K. 492, 1. 19, Proc, Jan., 1888,
and K. 183, 16, Heft III, p. 23). u-su-tu-n-Jii, K. 483, 11, tis-se,
ka-ra-ri, kar-mat, S. 1034. u-sah-ma-su-u, 7ii-kuf-tu, K. 82. a-da-jiie,
i-bak-ku-an-iii, K. 83. di-lil-sii-?iu, is-su-ri (cf. K. 525, Asurb., Heft
III, p. T,i), pi-lak-ku (the question is, what this word means in this
connection), sii-ti-tu {cf K. 525), K. 691. All the above texts will
be found in the Proceedings for June, 1887. ma-su, K. 21, takpi-ir-ti.
(I do not feel at all satisfied with the explanation given by me
above.) viu-nk, K. 80, i-sag-gan-ga., K. 81, ki-ir-si, K. 89. I do not
now believe that the explanation and meaning given to this word are
correct, for they do not seem to suit the other passages where the
word occurs. Cf. Y^. 113 and K. 511, Proceed, for Jan., 1888. It is
altogether uncertain what the word really does mean. Proceed, for
Nov., 1 88 7. ki-ik-ki-st, Y... iiT,. pa-7ii-a-te, 7i-namu-su, Is.. ii^6. is-bi,
sa-me, K. 174. nakise-ia, a-kmi-na im-mu-u-a, K. 479. am-mu-te,
a-ra-me-ma (or ha-ra-me-nici)^ gam-rat, K. 492. am. asti, mus-sa-ra-
ni-i, di-e-ki, K. 504. mar-kas, i-zu-kupu, ri-it-bu, K. 506. a-bi-te,
K. 507. im-mat-at, K. 508. Proceed, for Jan., 1888.
2. Words for which no explanation has been found, am. lii-suh-
ha-ni, K. 483. am. kal-lu-u. (Perhaps this root has been correctly
305
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
explained in the Proceed, for Jan., 1888, p. 164, 1. 21.) am. si-i'i/-hii-tii,
K. 82. Jia-via-kii-7(, K. S3, da-at-tii, pog-lu, K. 80. am. rab Mu,
K. 81. ilu La-as, K. 47S. (How the name "Merodach" sHpped
into the translation of this letter above, I am unable to say. I had
no intention of translating the name in this way.) ii-ra-a-te, pi-ir-ra-
a-ni, as-ti-e-7-i, K. 493. i-sir(^)-tn-u, K. 522. am-ma-ka, am. Sji-Ji-i,
K. 113. pur-ha-a-jii, K. 146. (I do not regard the explanation of this
word as of any value.) ur-ki-te, K. 502. ki-c-Ui {cf. K. 525, 35,
Asurl'., Heft III, p. 31). am. ip-hi-git-tu-ra, K. 506. at-ta-la-ah^
K. 507. as-s2(-ud, am. da-i-ka-ni-e, am. ki-in-tar-a-a, am. ra-si-tu,
pi-ta, K. 508. gul-gul-la-te, hi-zip-pi {cf. K. 183, Asi/rb., Heft III,
p. 23), K. 511.
The lack of a proper collection of Assyrian ideographs has
been a constant impediment in translating these texts. It is
a vast task to prepare such a list, and I had never found time to
make mine complete. This work has now been done by Dr.
R. E. Briinnow. The publisher of the book is E. J. Brill,
of Leyden. The part that has now appeared is only about one-
third of the whole, and when it is complete it will be one of the
most valuable contributions to the library of the Assyriologist.
The arrangement is clear and methodical, and its execution fault-
less. It is quite likely that this work will enable us to read some
of the unknown ideographs that occur in Assyrian report-documents.
Such a sign-list marks an epoch in our study of the Assyrian
literature, and it will certainly do much toward making our know-
ledge of the language more accurate.
Some of the following documents are not so well preserved as
most of those that I have given, but although that is true, they are
none the less important to our collection. Only one care is needed,
i.e., not to spend too much strength in trying to explain words and
forms where their very existence is not quite certain. The author
hopes that what he has thus far done may help to awaken a desire
in some of the members of the Society of studying this portion of the
Assyrian literature.
K. 154.
Trafiscription. Trafislatio?t.
I A-na sarri matate beli-ia To tke king of coimtries, my lord,
ardu-ka Ku-dur-ru thy servant, Kudurrii.
Asur Samas u Marduk May Asur, Samas and Merodacli
a-na sarri be-li-ia to the king, my lord
306
April]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
5 lik-ru-bu-ub ul-tu sarru beli
a-na Mi-sir il-lil-lik
i-na arah Duzu atalu iS-kun-
nu
sabe-ia a-na ba-la-tu sa Assur
ina lib-bi-su-nu ia-a-nu ana
u sumeli
10 il-tap-par a-du-u
am. apil sip-ri a-ta-ti-su-nu
sarru li-is-al-u sip-ti
sa atali sa arah Duzu ki-i as-
sa-a
a-na pa-ni sarri ih-te-lik
1 5 mad-da-gis ina arah Nisannu
Su-ma-a apil-su sa
ti-ia
be-li-ia
li
20 en-na
ti (?)-e-mu ul is-kun-an ni
.... kas-sap-pa-a-ta
ma-da-a- ta
a-na sarri be-li-ia
25 al-tap-par sarru lu-ba-a
Nabu-sum-esir apil ahi-su
. sa Za-kir-ru am. mas-su-u
bit ri-me-ki bit gal-kur-ra
u ma-me-i-ti u pa-sa-a-ri
30 a-na Bel-nasir am. sa-ku
i-pu-ub-us
ul-lu sarri be-li
ti-e- mu
is-kun-an-ni
35 am-ma ina sani
II sanitu a-na pa-ni-ia
il-ka
be gracious. As the king, my lord,
to Egypt went ;
in the month Tammuz an eclipse
took place.
My troops for the preservation of
Assyria
i?i their midst were not ; to the
right and to the left
he sent. Now
the messenger together with (?) them
may the king ask. As I the con-
jurations
of the eclipse of the month Tammnz
bro2ight,
to the king he fled.
/;/ the month Nisan
thus the son of
7ny
my
co7nmand and he has fiot given to me
many
to the king, my lord
I sent, may the king come.
Nabu-sum-esir, the soji of the
brother
of Zakirru, the Massu
of Bit-Rimeki, Bit- Galkurra
and the oaths and
to Bcl-nasir, the officer
has made
Now {? ?) the king, my lord
command
has given me
Indeed {!) in the year
tzuice before me
he came.
307
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [iS88.
Remarks.
This tablet is unedited, but is cited many times by Strassmaier
in his Alphabet. Verz. See Bezold, Literatio-ges, p. 246. A large
part of the letter cannot be read, and several other passages are not
clear to me.
Line 5. The form lik-m-bu-icb I have never met before. This
scribe seemed to be fond of unusual forms.
Line 6, il-lil-lik. This word appears to have too many letters,
either illik or lillik make regular forms. There are, however, other
such forms as this to be found. Cf. the form ak-ki-kis, Astirbanipal-
texte, Heft III, p. 2, line 26.
Line 11, a-ta-ti-su-nu. This word is quite new to me, and
I am not able to explain it with any certainty. It is possible
that it is to be derived from the root nnt^b "to designate, de-
termine," the Hebrew rTlt^.
Line 1 2, sip-ti. This is probably the correct transcription. The
stem of the word may be pXI^b^i, or pX^^") ; the latter seems to me
the more probable; the meaning is "conjuration."
Line 14, ih-te-lik. The root is p^H) "to go to destruction,
to flee."
Line 15. For the word luad-da-gis, cf. Asurbanipaltexte, Heft III,
P- 35>1- 17-
Line 22. The character at the beginning of the line may be
■^ the determinative for " woman," though this is not at all certain.
Line 25, lu-ba-a. I derive this word from b^ilH, "to come."
It is the Hebrew t^i^.
Line 27, am. inas-su-u. This is quite certainly the correct tran-
scription. The title is unknown to me in the texts, but there are
several passages in the vocabularies that may be compared. W.A.I.
II, 47, 14 — 15, mas-sii-ti knk-ku and luas-su-ii a-sa-ri-da. Cf. also
the other passages, AV No. 5227.
Line 30, am. sa-ku. This text seems to be correct, and not as
Strassmaier, AV No. 11 94, gives.
Line 31. The form i-pn-nb-us is another of those unusual forms
that occur in this document. It is probably the same as ipus.
Line 35, ^7w-W(/. Strassmaier, A V No. 452 compares the Arabic
Lcl, quidem, autem quod attinet. My translation is based u]Jon
this.
308
April]
PROCEEDINGS.
Transcription.
A-na ummi sarri belti-ia
ardu-ka Apla-a
Bel u Nabu a-na ummi sarri
belti-ia lik-ru-bu
5 a-du-u tl-mu-us-su
Nabu u Na-na-a
a-na ba-la-ta
nap-sa-a-ti
u a-ra-ka u-mu
to sa sarri matate beli-ia
u ummi sarri belti-ia
u-sal-la
ummu sarri belti-a
lu-u-ha-ma-ti
15 am. apil sip-ri sa du-un-ku
sa Bel u Nabu
it-ti sarri matate
be-li-ia
it-ta-lak
523-
Tra7islatio7i.
To the mother of the king, my lady,
thy seriHiiit, Apld\
May Bel and Nebo to the mother of
the king,
my lady be g7'acious.
Now daily (?)
to Nebo a?id Nana
for the preservation
of the life
and lejigth of the days
of the king of countries, iny lord,
and of the mother of the king, my
lady,
I pray.
May the mother of the king, my
lady
be joyful (?).
A messenger of the grace
of Bel and Nebo
zvith the king of countries,
my lord
shall S.O.
Remarks.
Pater Strassmaier has given most of this letter in AV. The
passages are noted in Bezold's Literaturges, p. 264. Strassmaier's
copy differs from mine only in line 14, where he gives ^y *^^ ^X,
^y >-(^. Cf AV No. 2499. Neither of these words can I explain
with certainty. My translation is wliat the connection seems to
demand. One might compare the Hebrew 1?2n or XVIX^-, but this
would be mere speculation.
Transcriptio7i.
A-na sarri beli-ia
ardu-ka Istar-sum-ere-es
lu sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia
Nabu u Marduk
K. 572.
Tra7islation.
To the ki7ig, my lord,
thy servant, Istar-sn7)i-e7'es .
Peace to the king, my lord.
May Nebo a7id Me7'odach
309
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY, [1888.
5 a-na sarri bcli-ia lik-ru-bu to the king, my lord, be gracious.
am. a-ba'"' am. sebute (?) The magicians {?), the coiijurers,
am. bar-bar''' the astrologers {?),
am. bare t/ie seers
am. da-kil-huP' the Dakilhu,
10 man-za-az ekalli 7C'ho have the palace in charge,
a-si-ib ali li'ho dwell in the city,
arah Nisannu Cimu XVP^ in the vioiith Nisan, on the \6th day
ina libbi a-di-e ifito the agreements
ir-ru-bu entered.
15 u-ma-a Now
is-si-a-ri in the morning (?)
a-di-e lis-ku-nu may the agreements bejnade.
Remarks.
Strassmaier also quotes part of this text in Alphabet Verz.
These quotations agree with my copy. It is also cited by Sayce,
ZK II, 4, No. I. Bezold has copied it : cf. Literaturges, p. 267.
The tablet is somewhat broken, but most of it can be quite certainly
restored.
Line 6, am. a-ba^^. This is certainly not a Semitic word, but an
ideograph, the pronunciation of which we do not know. Delitzsch,
Assyrisches Wbrterbuch, in his mania for explaining everything as
Semitic, calls this word also "gutsemitisch." I have called attention
to this in my pamphlet entitled, Why that " Assyrisches Wbrter-
buch " ought never to have been ptiblished. Cf. also the excellent
remarks of Prof. Sayce, ZA II, p. 342 ff. For passages where
this title occurs, see Asurba7iipaltexte, Heft II, p. 32, line 15. The
connection here seems to demand an entirely different meaning for
this word from that which I previously gave to it. — ^Cm '^ f*-*-^-
It is not certain how these characters are to be pronounced. I have
no proof that my transcription is correct.
Line 7, am. bar-bar^^. This is another unknown title. It would
seem that the four titles occurring here together should have kindred
meanings, but this necessitates us to translate these characters
different from heretofore. Cf. my remarks ZA I, p. 425 ff.
Line 9. The text here may not be altogether certain.
Line 10, tnafi-za-az. The root is ft^, "to stand."
Line 13, a-di-e. Cf Froceedifigs, June 1887, p. 253.
310
April]
TROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
Line 16. I am not certain how this Hne is to be read and
explained. Strassmaier reads is-si a-ri, and derives is-si from i<^iXyj,
"to carry" {cf. AV No. 3915); but this leaves a-ri unexplained,
and does not seem to suit the connection. We should naturally
expect an adverb here. The writer has just told us that the
agreements had been entered into on the sixteenth, and then asks
that these agreements be fixed or perhaps signed. I regard this as
another form of si-a-ri, " morning," and hence my translation.
K. 1122.
Transcription.
Asiar Samas u Marduk
a-ra-ku ume tu-ub libbi
u tu-ub seri sa bel sarrani
beli-ia lik-bu-u
5 a-du-u '-id-ru
am. mu-ri-ib-ba-nu
sa Hu-un-da-ru
man-da-at-ti sa Dilmun
i-na kata-su na-sa-'
10 a-na ekalli
al-tap-ra ki-i
pa-an sarri beli-ia mah-ru
rikke siparru u
esli Hu-sa-bi-su-nu
15 sa am. damkare
sa bit na-a-a-lu
sa sarri beli-a id-di-na
it-ti-su-nu
lid-bu-bu-ma
Trajisiation.
May Asiir, Samas and Meivdach
length of days, joy of hear-t
and Jiealth of body of the lord of
kings,
viy lord command.
Now ^Idru,
the Muribbanu
of Hundani
the tribute of Dilmun
in his hands has brought,
to the palace
I send {it). Wheti
in the presence of the king, my lord
he is received,
spices, copper and
Husabisunu 7vood
from the sei-vants
of Bit-nalu
of the ki?ig, my lord he will give.
With them
may he speak a?id
Remarks.
Strassmaier, AV No. 8915, quotes from line 5 to the end.
Cf Bezold, Lit., p. 278. The usual commencement of the letter
seems to be alone wanting at the beginning.
311
April]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1888.
Line 6, am. mu-ri-ib-ha-7iu. This seems to me to be the correct
transcription. The title is unknown to me elsewhere.
Line 12, mah-ru. The root is "^n?2 , "to receive."
Line 14, csu Hu-sa-hi-su-7iu. This group of signs is entirely new
to me, and I am unable to give any explanation.
Line 15, am. damkarc. The form of this word is not certain.
Cf. my note, Asiirbanipalttexte, Heft III, p. 21, line 31.
Line 16, bit na-a-a-lu. This group probably forms a name.
So-
Traiiscriptioii.
A-na sarri ahi-ia
duppu Samas-sum-ukin
lu-u sul-mu a-na ahi-ia
a-dan-nis Bel belit parsi
5 Nabij Tas-me-tu u Na-naa
a-na ahi-ia lik-ru-bu
Sin-bala-su-ik-bi
ha-an-na-ka ina pa-an ahi-ia
di-ili-bi i-ba-as-si
10 ina muh-hi-su a-si-me
ahu-u-a li-ik-lis
a-du a-hur-ra-sa-ni
mi-i-nu sa si-ti-ni
a-na ahi-ia
15 a-§ai)-par-an-ni
-19, 17.
TratislafioJi.
To t/ie ki?ig, my brother
letter of Sa?nas-sum-ukifi.
Peace to my brother.
Constantly may Bel., the lady of
command,
Nebo, Tasmet and Nana
to my brother be gracious
Siti-balasii-iklri,
honoured (?) before my brother
has backbitten.
Abont it I have lieard.
May my brother imprison him
until I shall come (?).
The nunjber of the Sitini
to my brother
I have sent.
Remarks.
This letter from Saosduchin to Asurbanipal really belongs to my
work on the Keilschrifttexte Asurbanipal, but belongs equally well
to this series of letters. The text of it has been given by Strassmaier,
AV No. 6702. He has done it well, for the writing on the tablet
is partly rubbed out, so that the text is not everywhere absolutely
certain. Cf. Lehmann-Winckler in Bczold's Literaturges, p. 347.
The translation and explanation of some lines is also very difficult.
Line 2, duppu. I should like to read cgirtu "letter," since it
makes, according to our ideas, much better sense, but I cannot
prove that the character -<4*ff ^as that value. The value duppu
312
April] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
is well known. Cf. S'= 291, and Pinches' note, Asurbanipaltexte,
Heft II, Y>. 77-
Line 4, belit parsi. Pater Strassmaier has not copied the three
lower wedges in "-Hf-A^x^ ; they cannot be exactly reproduced in
type, but they are certainly there in the original. For this expression
as well as the character just mentioned, cf. my note in the Pro-
ceedifigs, June, 18S7, p. 244, line 9, and lines 9 and 14 of the text,
K. 482, there published.
Line 8, ha-an-na-ka. This word is quite new to me. It may
be from pn, and mean favourite, but this is not at all certain.
Line 10, a-si-me. I have derived this word from the root ^^4^11)',
"to hear," but it is possible to explain it otherwise.
Line 11, li-ik-lis. This word seems to me to come from t^i"'^,
"to shut up, to imprison."
Line 12, a-dji is the same word as adi, "until." — a-luir-i-a-sa-jii.
This is the correct text, not as Strassmaier gives it. I cannot
explain the word.
Line 13, si-ti-ni. This is doubtless the correct transcription.
The word is to be found elsewhere. Cf. S. 456, line 35, 4XX- S^^
sa si-ti-i-ni sarru bc-li lis-fii-ra. " The number of the Sitini, may
the king, my lord send." This word is probably the same as si-i-te,
K. 525, line 35, a text which I have published, Asjirba7iipaltexte,
^C/"^III, p. 3iff.
Rm. 77.
Transcription. Translation .
a-na sarri beli-ia To the king, viy loj-d,
ardu-ka Bel-lik-bi thy servant, Bel-likbi.
lu sul-mu a-na sarri beli-ia Peace to the king my lord.
Hi-e-sa ina bit mar-di-ti-e Hcsa in Bit-Mardite
5 nise ina lib-bi la-as-su the people were not there,
am. rab kal-li-e am. rab rak-si the chief of the servants, the chief of
defence
u-di-su-nu ina lib-bi la-a i-ha- knoiu them, there they did not
ri-du tremble.
u-ma-a a-na-ku XXX bitate JVoza may I 30 houses
lu-sa-bi-sa ina lib-bi la-as- build ; there are no7ie there.
su-nu
ArRii.]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
[1888.
10 ume sa Nabu-sal-la am.
sak-nu
am. apil ki te-e
este-en
am. ki-sir ina lib-bi Hi-e-sa
kam-mu-su lu-se-si-su-nu
ina lib-bi Ar-gi-te
15 lu-se-sib-su-nu ekle kiretu
li-di-na-as-su-nu
sum-ma ma-hi-ir pa-an sarri
e-gir-tu ina eli Nabu-sal-la
am. sak-ni lis-pa-ru-u-ni
20 la-'-i-ru am. II-u
a-na am. rab Me-te
ina lib-bi la ap-kid
u Sin-iddi-na
am. rab biti sa Rammanu-
ha-ti
Iti the days of Nabu-salla, the
governor,
the S071 one
the chief of the forces in Hesa
bound cause the?n to go forth,
in Argite
cause them to dwell, fields, parks
give to them.
If there be opposition to the ki?ig,
may a letter to Nabu-salla,
the governor be sent.
Idiru, the second officer
to the chief officer of Mete
there I have not appointed
and Sin-idditia,
the master of the house oj Ram-
manu-hati
in Sazana I have not appointed.
25 ina Sa-za-naa la ap-kid
ba-si bit mar-[di]-te an-nu-te In (?) Bit-Mardite these
i-ha-ri-du sarri trembled of the king
i-pa-lu-hu am. ar-ba-a-a feared, the captain of j\o
a-ki-sa ti-ma-li sa su-me as yesterday
30 e-ru-bu u-su-u sul-mu a-dan- entered, zuent out peacefully. Con-
nis stantly
A-mi-li-'-ti apil A-me-ri Amili'ti, the son of Ameri
ina Su-pi-te ina muh-hi-ia in Supite to me
i-tal-ka te-ma-te a-sa-'-al-su came, the neivs I asked him.
sul-mu a-dan-nis apil A-sur-pi Peacefully, constantly the son of
Asurpi
35 a-na Ma-ni-' sa il-ku-u-ni to Ma?ii' 7vhither he came,
u-di-ni te-en-su la-a ir-sa-me judged, his command they do not
obey (?).
Rem.arks.
This is a thoroughly new text ; it is not mentioned by Bezold, lit.
It is very difficult to copy, since the writing has become so worn away.
The tablet is marked " P.S." to show that it comes from the Palace
of Sennacherib. In my absence from London Mr. Pinches kindly
sent me his copy, which has been of use to me in arriving at a correct
314
I.
Proc.
K 154.
^'^Jr. Bihl. A
/r/^, ^/;77, 1SS8.
Vr ^4 ^
^ \^ \^ -
^ m\
>^"r ^1^]
riiriir
^
->f -¥ >
->f 4 <R±r
->f I
}W^^
- ^ j^
E^r?
5-
IH ^^>
- «# <-r<^ ^
11 j^^
-\
Vr ^4 "-"
<^^ ^>K ri^
-ri ^<x iM
-«<\
A %\ ->f <^^ ^\\ ^m:\ V-
i:^ ^^r4 ^rr -XT "^ t-k-k
r? .4 4= j^ j^= "^ ^i iH
-IMT ^r H !][ :gri ¥
2^;^2^iWv^:?>:^ \*T A ^ I Y
Reverse.
y ^>f ^ >^ -^r 4-y i^r ^<^ I
¥ T V, "BY ^ ^ >f %^m
<H±r :Hf V E^ KK <^ ¥ rif 4f i
r? .4 I -Hf- -H -¥ ^ ¥ ^T
^yy >i^«y ->f ,^
TT ^ \\ .^ ^ j^ E^y][
-M ^y^y
30
35
Proc. Soc. Bihl Arch., April, iS88.
Plate II.
TT
K 523.
--T-y-r < ^>f .4f .iSf r?
Reverse.
Vr
H '^ 5< H K-K
YYT
YT
Pjoc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., April,
Plate III.
K 572.
5- I? ^4[ j^:w -:i j^^i? m m ^-
^^ r? --T T-- t:m - T--
^^ I? --IT r>
10. « ?r .^^ .yyyy ^y.
I? <r- HI -^ir
^ m ^-
Reverse.
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., April, iJ
Plate IV.
K 1 122,
-q. E^r? IH ^- -^i?
^ >^ -Tr<r HI H V-
« ^T<r j^^r KK ¥ 4^ ^ 4^1
^o. \\ .4 :sr :iT-
Reverse.
15. ¥ ^ tr-'E^i ^? i^
¥ ^ffi ^4 i{ y? H
0 ^- ^- ^\
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., April, \\
Plate V.
80-7-19, 17.
A^ T ->f j^r -<^ >^ ^A ^4
5. .>f .Q^ .>f jiy y. 4 < .>f ^4 ^4 yr
T? .4 ^:?s^ ^^y? m iiii -g-
y .>]p <<< <r< .^yy jp^. j^
10. ^ <^-H4 I y? "^yy y-
^:^^ j^yyy- y? -s^ -y;^ <y
y?j^y y?4^^^yy ?? ^
<tt j.t ^ V <y- ->!< ^
Reverse.
y? .i!y t^i ttVy
^5. y? ^idr ^ ^^ m
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., April, 1888.
Plate VI.
Rm. 77.
-^rr AA\^- ^irrr ^rr- <y5^ h< ^^n
iHi V :^ V - ^nr ::; -^r ^ .it -^^
10. 4 r^ ^yy y .^ >3f. ^ ^^y ^^ ^ >^
^^ ^^ <Igf ^y^y (?) igy (?) ^y ^.y? y ^\
^^ <Igf ^^yyy< ^ ^yyy c: ^-yy ^ ^\\ ^
A-< ^ >i£n m ^ ^^rr i v-
-^yyyi^^^yy <y^^yy<y ^yy^ ^T
-^^ <y^ ^^y ^ ; ^
cj^ ^y ^y 4 ^ ^ -Hh j^:^
5.y]f v^,< 4 ^ <-::H y -Hh^ j?f -^y
^4^ V j^ <y ^ iin < J5^
20. y jr^yr ^.>f ^ ^jn ^^ yy <
\\-^\ ^^^y^^^yy y^ ^y
-^yyy^ ^^y x.^\ m
<vm y ->f <« j£? ^4
c^^ ^y^ ^yyyy ^y y < ?{< xy<
25. - -^yy ^ u --y y? -^y ^^\ m
--y "^yy 5-yyyy -y-niiM -y 'T^ ^y
5^^ \M -yyi J^y?^i>gg>^;?M?^s^^
^^ I^ -yi ^ ^4^<y^yy^-^yyn?
y? <iEy ^yy ^y< ^y -^yy v ^y y-
30. ^y? ^jn ^- ^yyy5= t^^ < <s^ ^ y? j^yy? «
y y? <^j: -^^ A-^ -<\< ^^ y y? y- -yy;
- -tyy t^^ -> ^y - <-^h ^ j^^t?
!^^ jff ; -^H j^^y ^y ^y v^ ^ a-^ -jl \
<y^ >^ y? ^yyr « ^^ y yr .^ ^y-
35- y? .4 \^ ^y ^ A-^ ^yy ^.^yy m < j??
^yyy- <y^ ^ j^^y -q. i -^y y? j^ v y-
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., April, iS8S
Plate VII.
S. 1046.
<c^ ^ >7^ 4 t^rr I? r? - <r- ti^
^n fci:^ -^ ^ J^TT ^V -HF- J^
^^y][ 5^111- ^ ^v^ w "^mmmm
Reverse.
^i:l ->f^ i!^T ^ iff 4 ->f"r— '^"^H
^^ ^ ^ J.T ^? j^yrr ->f ^
- ^- ^- ^i r? -^ ^^r -iL ->f j^
^TT ^V ->f 5f? ^irr J^TTTT Tr ^^T j£m lil < iff
-^i -Q^ ->f j^ 5^1? r? --T j^^ -iL ^^r?
^ ^^ ^^yy ^y \\ ^, ^y ^ 4^ >^ ->f
-^y !^i<j ly j^]^ ^y -^H -^y ^-
35. -^y -Hh 4 -yi ti? ^y ^ ^yy y? y?
^ <y- 1^:^ -n tEy;?
Edge ^^ -^y ^ ^ < 5^
Pioc. Soc. Bihl. Arch., April, l888.
Plate VIII.
82-7-4, 37.
I- r«< T V ^u?) n e ^TfT Hf- ->f -^r ^rif
r? ^4 <:rr^y ^ -y^r^i '^r i^i >^i >ai^ ;^
5. n ^^ "-" t\\\ ->f ?^r j^ ^11 ^
-^w\ %\ '^r -TH ^^ ^^ SSf ^r<r
^ .4 <:±rcr ^ ^r 'T^ ^ -^- ^<i ^t
^\A\ -<\< 1 1? ^4 "^" OKI ^T ^
10. ^^T<r -^^t4 iir ^T "<" OKI ^r ^ a^ ^^-
®fr?) "::iii ^T H ^^i <i-'Hr ->f -^T ^n
EET^i -<T< >;^rii T]f ^4 ^? ->f ^^r # "zw y n
>C4 Tt 0 « ^i -<V IT- ^<
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., April, iX
Plate IX.
82-7-4, 37 — continued.
44f T^tT^t r? ^^ r y -^ -^ n
30. J4^T >f ->f -^y ^y][ ^y^y ^ ^
¥ ^ .4f <T- -ri ;:^M « <v <5y^f ^
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^<y ^ ^1 4^ ^
35. r? .^ -:^y -ly ^, ^M^ xs^,
^v^Y\ "^r^ \-l^t^^ ::^m -^y
•ET >^-^r m ^\ \ -IT ^ H -<!< -r -T- -ir ^•:^t :^T^r n
^ . jy t^^yy ^ i^nry <y^ ^ ^y .|y ^ ^y ^yyy^
'^ ]f][ # >ir y- K-K ^y
40. <\^\ V, ^^ ->f -^y ^Vy ^]] ^ ^-^ ^y ^ ^T<
y]^ .4 !^y- ^ j^- 5^y ^ V # E^ ^
April] PROCEEDINGS. [iSS8.
text. I have since re-examined the original with both copies before
me, so that I hope I have succeeded in obtaining as good a copy as
it is possible, in the damaged state of the tablet, to get. The
explanation of some of the words is also very difficult.
Line 6, am. rab kal-U-e. Cf. am. kal-lii-ti, K. 82, lines 9, 31,
36, in the Proceeedings^ June, 1887, and ajn. ka-al-la-a, K. 479,
line 21, etc., Proceedings, January, 1888, p. 164. — am. rab rak-si.
This latter word probably comes from the root D3"1, "to bind." I
am not certain that my translation is the proper one.
Line 7, i-ha-ri-du. For the meaning and explanation of this
word, compare the Hebrew "T"^n, "to tremble." The Hebrew
word has also the meaning of " haste."
Line 9, lu-sa-bi-sa. Perhaps this word comes from n\I?3.j "to
be, to have." IH, i, "to make." The meaning, at least, is what
the context demands.
Line 11. The characters that I have here given are very
doubtful.
Line 13, kavi-mii-su. The root is DQ3, "to bow oneself."
Line 24. This is the most probable reading of this line, although
by no means certain.
Line 26, ba-si. I have no idea how this word is to be explained.
Line 29. The last part of this line I do not understand. The
text is also very doubtful.
Line 2)Z^ te-ma-te. I am inclined to regard this as plural from
temu.
Line 36, u-di-iii is probably from "J'^"T, "to judge." — ir-sa-me. I
do not know whence this word is to be derived.
The two following texts may be regarded as an appendix, and I
leave them for the present untranslated. The contract tablet will be
of interest on account of the style of waiting, which I have tried to
reproduce, as well as for other reasons.
315
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iJ
THE ETRUSCAN INSCRIPTIONS OF LEMNOS.
By Robert Brown, Junr., F.S.A.
In the Bulletin de Correspondence /lelleniqne, X, is given an
account of the discovery by MM. Cousin & Durbach at the village
of Kaminia, in the island of Lemno, of the stone bearing the Figure
and Inscriptions, copies of which are annexed. Etruscologists at
once perceived that the language was a dialect of Etruscan ; and
Prof. Bugge of Christiania, in a pamphlet entitled Der Ursprung
der Etriicker durch zwei lenmische Tnschriften erliiutert, 1886, has
given a rendering of the Inscriptions on Aryanistic principles; whilst
Dr. Carl Pauli of Leipzic, in a pamphlet entitled Eine Vorgriechische
Inschrift von Leninos, 1886, has discussed the matter with his usual
learning and ability, and shown what is the correct order of the words,
but makes no attempt at their translation. Since Prof Bugge has
adopted a wrong order of the words, but translates the Inscriptions
just as well notwithstanding, it would, as Prof. Sayce i^The Etruscans
in Leninos ; in The Academy, July 24, 1886) observes, be waste of
time to consider his views (which are absolutely rejected by Pauli) in
detail. But further, since 200 years of patient effort, including the
labours in our own time of such great savants as Corssen, Deecke,
and Bugge, have utterly failed to prove to the learned world that
Etruscan is an Aryan dialect, we must needs regard such proof as
being impossible to furnish, and the Indo-European theory of
Etruscan as baseless. Since no one now regards Etruscan as a
Semitic dialect, it must be either a language sui generis (which I hold to
be improbable), or, as our eminent member Canon Isaac Taylor has
long held, belong to the Ugro-Altaic family of speech. ( Vide Taylor,
Etruscan Researches, 1874; The Etruscan Language, 1876; R. B., Jr.,
Ugro-Altaic N'umerals : One-Five, in the Froc. Soc. Bib. Arch., Feb.,
1888/ Etruscan Letters; in The Academy, Nov. 27, 1886; May 21,
Aug. 20, Nov. 12, 1887; Jan. 14, March 10, 1888.) The following
tentative and undogmatic translation of the first Lemnos Inscription
316
ProceeAngs. Soc.BwUArch. Y0I.XI8&8.
y^.
o
a
2;
D ^ O
<r D ^
77" v;: ^
<Z
i^?^5>
^-7
NSCRIPTIONS FROM LEMNOS.
Arpil] proceedings. [i8S8.
is based upon this supposition, and the great mass of evidence
which can be adduced in support of it. No Etruscan inscription
not being mortuary and containing more than about half a dozen
words, has yet been translated to the general satisfaction of the
learned ; but, at all events, the following effort will, I trust, tend
to direct attention to a most interesting and important enquiry.
IL
I. Tr.\nscription.
Inscription A.
(Above and at the back of the head of the warrior.)
evisOo \ zeronaiO \ sial^vdz : aviz J ; maj-az \ 7uav \
holaie \ z \ na(f)oQ ziazi :
Inscrjption R
(On " la face laterale " of the Ston<e.)
holaiezi : (poMasiale • zeronaiO : evisQo : toveroma
Inscription C
(Between the spear and the head.)
I'd ' malasial \ zeronai mormail j
aker : tavarzio \ zivai
Inscription D.
(On " la face laterale" of the Stone : written inversely to Ins. B,)
rom : haralio : zivai : ep\a\ : ezio : arai \ tiz : (poke : |
zivai : aviz : sial'^viz : marazm : aviz : aomai
Variant Readings.
According to Breal :—
GiaX-^f^i — aft : ^—fafia\(ima\ — Tof[ ; Jap^t-o — ^epo^aiB —
€7r[T]6f(0 T10 flajHf^lJL.
According to Bugge : —
sialxvet\j\z — avi : z — vamalasial — taz\_ : ]arzio — y^[/]a'/z^[2]/
zerozaiO — ep\t-'\ezio — ti* — sialxi'iz — ->niar^m.
According to Pauli : —
ma\_ \ '\av\iz~\ — vamalasial — eptezio — <poke/s (od. — vs).
317 2D
Apkii.]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1888.
The reader will judge for himself. The proposed readings
f(n'[ : ]arzio, w[ \ ]c7v[iz], ep\t\ezw, and (fyoke/s, apj^ear to me to be
baseless. The three savants agree in reading vamalasial, but the In-
•scription certainly shows va . f/i ■ alasial ; and it is very improbable
that both the points should be pointless. Strictly following the
original, I have given holaie \ z, but this is so clearly one word, that
Pauli (I think quite correctly) reads /iohiie{ \ )z. Inscriptions, like
other writings, must not be construed too strictly ; and we find at least
one undoubted error in these Inscriptions, i.e., in the spelling of
siiil'^veiz.
II. Verbal Comparison.
I. Words.
aviz (3).
j zeronai. (" maraz.
r sial^veiz.
\ ze?'imai6 (2). ( marazm.
I sial^viz.
evisOo (2).
zivai (3). C rom.
J (poke.
L {tove-)roiiia.
I (pokiasiale
f {ao-)iiiai.
r holaic-z.
I jnav.
I holaiezi.
2. Endings.
■ avi-z.
^evi-s-(Oo).
r morina-il.
niaj'a-z.
zia-zi.
< /nalasi-al.
-{ siaZ-^vei-z.
'
holaie-z (i).
I (pokiasi-ale.
j sia/yp-vi-z.
hfllaie-zi.
[^ti-z.
mala~si-al.
cez-io.
^(j)okia-si-ale.
1 haral-io.
r zeronai-0.
Javarz-io
\ na(po-0.
raovi-ai
\ ar-ai.
( ' ma-v.
j zeron-ai.
'<. ro-ni.
-ziv-ai.
I {tove-)ro-ma
3. Variation in Word and Word-order.
sial-^veiz — sial^viz. { cvisOo zeronaiO. { sial>\rveiz aviz.
I zeronaiO evisOo. L aviz sial^viz.
Similar variations appear in Etruscan Inscriptions ; e.g., the numeral
sometimes precedes, and sometimes follows the word with which it
is specially connected.
318
April] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
4. Etruscan Word-comparison.
The following list is by no means exhaustive : —
Lem. aviz. Cf. Et. avle, avile, aviles, mile, etc.
Lem. aker. Cf. Et. akrs'. (Fabretti, Corpus Inscript. Ital.,
No. 451.)
Lem. nrai. Cf. Et. aras'. (Fab., No. 19 14, A 6. The famous
"Cippus Perusinus.")
Lem. ep\_a\ Cf. Et. Epan. (Fab., No. 2506), Epana. {lb., No.
2404.)
Lem. zeronaiQ, zeronai. Cf. Et. zeriuna. (Fab., No. 1914,
B. 18.) Pauli reads the passage in the Cippus Perusinus
Ins., — zeriima cx \ a- The original, however, stands thus, —
zeriufiacx \ a {vide inf. in voc. ZerofiaiO).
Lem. zivai. Cf. Et. zivas. (Fab., No. 2335.)
Lem. ziazi. Cf. Et. zia. (Fab., No. 1914, A 19.)
Lem. mnraz. Cf. Et. maris' . (Fab., No. 480, 2094.)
Lem. tiz. Cf. Et. tez. (Fab., No. 1052.)
O occurs in North Etruscan, as in the Abu Simbel and Thera
Inscriptions. In ordinary Etruscan the Gk. o is variously repre-
sented by a, e, u or v; e.g., Gk. Atrop^s=Et. A©rp«, Gk. Admet^s
= Et. Atmit^, Gk. 6>dusseus = Et. t/i9use, Gk. OTiades = Et. Filatas.
5. Some Etruscan Case-endings.
Nominative. Q. E.g., Lein-0, Van-^, Amin-0, Arun-0, Snena-0,
lar-0.
-s. A very common ending {vide Schaefer, Die
Nominativ - Bildung im Etruskisc/ien. In
Pauli's Altital. Stud., Pt. II), as in Hittite.
-r. {E.g., Axvist-r, la-r, tula-r.)
-a. A very common ending.
Cf. Lem, ep\-a\, zeronai-0, ake-r, sial'^vei-z.
Genitive. al, -sial (Deecke).
-ial, -iale, -ali, -at, si (Pauli).
-ial, -ai (Schaefer).
-si, -sial, -siale, -il (Bugge).
Cf. Lem. holaie-zi, zia-zi ; ar-ai, aom-ai, zeron-ai, ziv-ai ;
morina-il, t)iala-si-al, (jiokia-si-ale.
319 2 D 2
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1888.
Locative. ei, 0 (Deecke), -9 (Bugge), {e-)-Oi, u (Pauli).
C/. Lem. €vi-s{i)-6o.
Dative. e, -/, -ie (Deecke).
Cf. Lem. eZ'io, haral-io, tavarz-io.
Accusative. a (Deecke); -in (Bugge).
Cf. Lem. tovcro-m-a.
IIL
Translation and Notes (Inscription A).
The Argument.
Harpagos, the General of Kyros, having conquered Phokaia,
the inhabitants retired to AlaUa ( = Aleria) in Kyrnos (Corsica), an
ancient station of the Phoenicians, and where some Phokaians had
already estabUshed themselves. Five years afterwards the combined
Etruscan and Karthaginian fleets attacked the Phokaian fleet at
Alalia; the Phokaians won "a Kadmeian victory," 40 of their 60
ships being destroyed in the fight, and the remainining 20 so
damaged as to be useless in war. They therefore abandoned Alalia
(^Vide Herod. I, 165-6), which was thereupon re-occupied by the
allies. The Phoiniko-Etruscan chief Zeronai^^ ( = Latin Serranus)
determines on a retaliatory expedition into eastern waters. Landing
at Lemnos, he takes possession of the town of Myrina ; and, after
the manner of Hittite, Euphratean, and other kings and conquerors,
he carves his likeness, accompanied by a suitable inscription (Ins. A)
on a (ttIjXij. a second Inscription (Ins. B) is placed on one side
of the Stone under his direction ; and in both these Inscriptions
he refers to himself in a marked manner, and with special emphasis
as the conqueror of Alalia. Encouraged by his success, he next
sails to Phokaia, in further pursuit of his revenge. Here, however,
the expedition appears to have met with a reverse, and Zeronaii^
himself to have lost his life. There are various reasons for believing
that a certain connexion existed between the Etruscans and Phoe-
nicia. The Phoenician Dionysos,* son of 'Samlath,f (Et. Semla,
* Vide R. B. Jr., The Great Dionysiak Myth.
t Vide Sayce, Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, 54.
3550
April] PROCEEDINGS. [i88S.
Gk. Semele), and a divinity worshipped at Gebal (Byblos), is found
in Etruria as the ' Byblian ' god, the god of the f3ifi\tvos- o7vo^, —
Greek — ji-v-fi-X-i-v-o-'i
Earher Et. — { ^ .
Later Et. — F-n-f-I-u-n-ti
And that the famous wine came from Gebal appears by a verse
of Archestratos {ap. Athenaios, I, p. 28) : — ■
It is, therefore, less surprising to find the two members of
the divine Diad of Gebal — Tammuz and Baalath — mentioned in
Ins. C. Ins. A and B are either actually by Zeronai^ himself,
or written under his immediate direction. Ins. C and D have
been added after his death, and are perhaps by the same hand.
Ins. C breathes a spirit of pious resignation, and Ins. D, which I
have called "The Dirge over Zeronai^," is marked by a simple
and touching pathos which should ensure it a high place amongst
such compositions. In the melancholy play upon words involved
in the names Alalia — Ifarali we are reminded of an exact parallel
supplied by the desponding Viola : —
" Viola. — What country, friends, is this.^
Captain. Illyria, lady.
Viola. — And what should I do in Illyria ?
My brother he is \x\Elysiuin." — ( Twelfth Alght, A. i, S. 2.)
Verbal pleasantr}^ is not the particular property of any one race
or family of mankind. Ins. C at once recalls that fine passage in the
Babylonian Epic of Gisdhubar, in which the hero laments his
deceased friend Heabani : —
" The destruction of the Earth has seized thee.
Ninazu, of darkness the mother, of darkness, of darkness,
Her illustrious stature as his mantle covers him, and
Her feet like a deep well darken him."
The following are the dates generally given for the respective
events: — First colonization of Alalia by the Phokaians, B.C. 572;
capture of Phokaia by Harpagos, cir. 542 ; battle of Alalia, cir. 536.
I know of no historical or epigraphic considerations which prevtnt
321
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [iSS8.
us from dating the expedition and Stele of Zeronai^, cir. B.C. 535.
The Stone presents a remarkable parallel to the Hittite sculptures
of Karabel (First and Second Pseudo-Sesostris), each of which
depicts a s])ear-holding figure. One " figure is also accompanied
by an inscription in Hittite hieroglyphics placed between the face
of the figure and the top of the spear" (Sayce, Herod., 181), as
in the present instance. The Hittite inscriptions are similarly
$ovaTpo(pr]£6i'. {Vide Ins. A and D.)
Inscription A.
evisOo • zeronaiO | siah\rveiz :
With-his-tongue Serranus Sulpicius (says, 'lam)
aviz I : vmraz \ ?nav \ Jwlie-z
Aulus, the-young-chief the land of-Alalia (who rules').
jiacjioO ziazi
(As) a-Sun-god his-likeness (is.)
Notes.
EvisOo. = ez'i (= eme) + s{i) + Ou, = noun + pronominal
affix + Locative-ending, = 'tongue' + 'his' + 'from-the-place-of.'
Cf. the Hittite ideograph at the beginning of the Hamath Inscrip-
tions— a head and arm with hand to mouth, below which, strokes,
read by Prof. Sayce as me, ve {Vide Wright, Empire of the Hittites,
177)- Cf-: grammatically, such forms as the Ak. 3rd pers. sing, of
the noun in the Loc. case, e.g., ad (the noun) -bi (pronominal affix)
-ta (Locative-ending). As regards style, cf. the " Spake I with my
tongue" of the Psalmist. Sir Hugh Evajis considers the "He
hears with ears " of Ancient Pistol as ' affectations.'
Evi. Cf Ak. e, 'to speak'; evii, 'tongue,' 'language'; eme,
me, 'voice,' 'to call'; emes, 'mouth.' y>- {erne) was originally a
drawing of a tongue, just as ^ was the "tongue of a balance." So
the Samoied c, a-ng, ca-ng, oa-ng, ' mouth ' ; ?ifdmi, ' tongue ' ;
dmitdaiua, "to say'; Yenissei ^/, 'tongue'; Buriatic aina, ama-n,
ama-ng, ' mouth ' ; Tungusic am-nga, ' mouth ' ; North-Ostiak unni-l,
'mouth.' (Note. Fand m at times interchange in Et., e.g., le-tn-raia
= le-v-recna, ra-in-Ou = ra-v-fi-Oi/.)
-S{i). = the Ugric pronominal suffix -s, -si, -se, ' he,' ' his ' ; cf.
Lapponic atzja-s, 'his father'; Turkic ata-si, 'his father'; Zyri-
anian sy, 'his,' etc. {Vide Taylor, Etruscan Researches, 205). It is
generally called by Etruscologists a Genitive-form, but it is more
322
ArRii.l TROCEEDINGS. [iSS8
strictly speaking a Possessive case, like the Magyar -7iak, and it
exactly corresponds with the English Possessive. So the Et. Usils
— ' Sun ' 4- ' his ' = 'the Sun's ' ; Et. az'//s = ' year ' + ' his.' It is
joined to the root, as in Akkadian or Magyar; e.g., Mag. kalap-
om-?iak = ' hat ' + ' my ' + ' of.'
-Qo. ■= 6u. So m-o-ri>ia{-il) = M-u-rina (Ins. C). Cf. the
following Locative cases or terminations : — Ak. -ta ("which expresses
the idea of an internal or external locative, that is to say, both the
inessive 'into' and the elative or ablative 'from, from within.'"
Lenormant, Chaldean Afagic, 273. This is exactly illustrated by
evisGo, "from within his mouth.") Buriatic -da, -de, -do, -ta, -fe, -to
(also a Dative) ; Tungusic -du, -tu (also a Dative) ; Koibal -da, -ta ;
Turkic -da, Mongolic -diir, Mantchu -de, Magyar -//.
ZeronaiO. = the old Rom. name Serranus = (originally) "'a
man of Tzur" (Tyre, Assyrian Zurra), a very interesting indication
of the mixed (Phoiniko-Etruscan) character of the nationality of
these sea-ro\'ers. In Ins. B we have (as it stands) the erroneous
{inde Pauli, Itis. Lem. 7-8) reading zerozaiQ {cf. zeronai, Ins. C).
A final 0 in Et. often = ^, e.g. lard, (' lord ') = /^r^. A good
example occurs in Fab., No. 2581, where we find the Et. name
ArunO (=Lat. Aruns) standing alone. That the Et. final 0 ^= s is
also fully admitted by Bugge, who, thinking he has got hold of an
imdoubted Aryan word, renders na<^o9 {vide inf.) by nepos ; whereas
the Etruscans borrowed the Lat. nepos, and reproduced it in the
form nefts. In this Tyrian connexion we find the Et. mirror-goddess
Zirna (=Tzur + Et. na, 'of or 'belonging to'), who with high-
dressed hair and the half-moon of the Tyrian Astarte hanging from
her necklace, appears in company with Turan (the Phoenician
Aphrodite) and Atunis (Adonis), as the personification of the great
city herself, in attendance on her favourite divinities, the Homeric
Tyro (^Od. xi, 235), which name, w^hen it comes to the Etruscans
through the Greeks, appears in the form Turia {vide Fab., No. 1069).
Zeronai^ is thus a son of Zirna. According to Bugge, the Inscrip-
tion speaks of a Tyrrhenian goddess Zerona, who is the Et. Zirna,
and the Zeipljiny 'A(ppoci'-r)j eV Ma/i-ecoi'/a of Hesychios. But there is
not the slightest reason to suppose that any letter has been omitted
from the name Zirna, or that she is an Aryan divinity; and
Zeirene is only a Makedonian goddess as clad in the Thrakian
garment ^eipd, and therefore has notn.ng to do with the Et. Zirna
or the Et. Zeronai^. Having thus obtained an imaginary goddess
323
April] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILI^OLOGV. [1888.
Zerona, Bugge next, apparently forgetting that -0 is a specially
favourite ending for the names (Nominatives) of Et. goddesses,
explains Zer6nai(9 as a Locative, with the meaning 'Zerona-
Heiligtume.' The true Locative in the Inscription ends, as it
should do, with a vowel ; but Bugge, by an altogether arbitrary
and undoubtedly erroneous* word division of the Inscription Fab.,
No. 2404, obtains another imaginary word OipurenaieO, which he
renders " im Heiligtume der Juno Tiburna," and brings forward
in support of his Loc. zeroJiaiO.
If, in the Cippus Perusinus, we should read zeriniiacx {vide sup.,
p. 319), we shall have here another and an exact illustration of the
name Zeronai(^-Serranus in its original national signification as "a
Tyrian " ; and may compare the corresponding Et. forms Rumax
("a Roman")and Velznaxi""^ Volscian"). Prof. Sayce is of opinion
that the Et. -0 is an " abstract suffix," and quotes the goddess names
Lein-d and Van-0 in illustration ; in this case such a meaning as
'Tyrian' would not be inappropriate to a ^-ending name. {For
further illustration of the Q-s change, vide Deecke, Et. Fors. joid
Stud., Pt. ii, p. 46.) But as Deecke {Ibid., p. 45) shows, in Et.
0 at times = x, {^-g-, Et. mc-0-1 = me-x-i), and cx = 0; so that the
name-derivation is as follows :—Zz?/?-, Tzor (Tyre), Tziir-na ( =
Zirna) = "Tyre + belonging-to"; Tzoreei ('Tyrian'), Tzoreei-na-ax
{"-ax in Ethnicis," Deecke, in K. O. Midler, Die Etrusker, ii,
p. 437 ; vide sup., Velznak, etc.) — (lit.) " Of-Tyre-belonging-to-man "
(As Prof. Sayce notes, a Bilingual Inscription shows that the Et.
na = "belonging-to.") = 'Tyrian' =■ Et. Zeriunax = Et. Lem.
Zeronaie = Old Lat. Serranus — " A-man-of-Tyre."
Sial^veiz. — Sulpicius. The Sulpicia Gens was of unknown
antiquity. Thus Servms Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus was consul
B.C. 500. The dialect of the Lemnos Inscriptions exhibits in an ac-
centuated degree the customary Et. love of a 0-sound. S{z), as noticed,
is a common Et. noun-ending, and frequently appears even in loan-
words; e.g., Lat. 7iepos— Et. tiefts ; YjuX.. pronepos = Et. prufn{f)ts ;
* Vide Fab., p. 208. The following is an illustrative specimen of the ex-
tremities to which Prof. Bugge is reduced, in order, on his lines, to make any-
thing like sense out of the Inscriptions. Having wrongly read the word tavarzio
as tav arzio, and explained tav as the "gr. riiv," he opines that arzio must stand
for (an imaginary) araws/o. Then, of course, all is clear ; " *ara7)i = \ai. aravi
wurde mit zio — lat. dmm," and s(j we provide the goddess ' Zerona ' with an
'altar.' Just so; but "first catch your hare."
April] PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
Gk. 'OtXta^rj^' = Et. Vi/afas ; Gk. " k^wm^ = Et. A^U7/S ; Gk. A'/n? =
Et. Eivas, etc. ( Vide inf. in voc. Aviz. ) An Et. v before e and /,
often = ?<: (vide Deecke, in Die Etrusker, ii, p. 383), and the Gen. forms
f ?<r-/^«-/ .„ ^ ^ ^, -J .•, ^4.1 f S-ia~/- ylr -vei-z.
I illustrate the identity of the names I ^
lu a-l lS-71 ~l-p{i)c-iu-s.
Aviz. = Aulus. As Pauh shows (Ins. Le//i., 32) the Et. / had a
very soft sound, and often disappeared before consonants in the
' Inlaut,' e.g., ve-/-si ^= vesi. So, similarly (as he agrees) avis = avi-l-z.
Avle, avile, aiile, are variant forms of the well-known Et. name ; and
we also meet with the form aviles as a Nominative, e.g.^ in an Orvieto
burying-place containing 17 tombs, each of which bears the inscrip-
tion Mi ("I am." = Ak. Mu, " 'Moi.' Employe pour dire 'je suis.' "
Lenormant.) + a name, many of these names, e.g., araOia, /arOia,
being undoubtedly nominatives. (Fab., Terzo Sup., Nos. 293 — 305.)
Pauli makes aviz (and most other words in the Inscriptions) a Genitive,
with the result that his Genitive cases come together by fours and
fives, which is impossible. (As to Nom. 5-endings, vide sup. in voc.
Sial^veiz. )
Maraz. = Et. Maris. The Et. mirrors give representations of a
deus pjter, a ' Gotterjiingling,' not necessarily a 'child' {I'ide Corssen,
Spra.der Et., 265), called Maris. The name is really vl/rt-r/ or J/rtr?/,
as the -i'='the' l^vide Sayce, Etruscan Notes, in The Academy,
Sept. 7, 1878 ; The Suffix s in Et., in Pauli's Alital. Stud., Pt. ii ) ;
e.g., Et. Trui-ai-s =^ " Troy- belonging- to-the " = "the Trojan."
Similarly, -s = the definite article in Mordvin ( vide Taylor, Ef.
Researches, no). Some of the connexions of the Et. inaru are
shown in the following list. Bugge well points out that in Et. s at
times becomes r, e.g., E-s-us ^ E-r-us, and the Turanian letter-
changes r-s, r-l, b-p, s-j~g, ni-n (as to Et. in-ti change, vide Deecke, in
Die Etrusker, ii, 434), will be familiar to students of Schott and his
successors : —
Akkadian. — vi-a-s- = 'son,' 'offspring,' 'warrior-spirit.'
m-a-s—i =:'hero,' 'first-born,' 'leader.'
Cyi Hittite. — m-e-s — / =aproper name (Sayce, in Wright,
Emp. of the ffiitites, 195).
Buriat. — b -a~s — a =' child.'
Akkadian. — • b -a-r — a =' son,' 'offspring.'
Etruscan.— vi-a-r — / "1 ^deus puer, 'young warrior.' Cf
m-a-r — u i Lat. Maro.
325
Aprii.] society of BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
North Ostiak. — }i~au-r — a =' child.'
' Lapponic. — / -a-r — dne= ' son.'
Samoied.^ vi-a-j — e -\
Magyar. — vi-a-gz-at\ = '' cV\\^'
Koibal. — b -a-l — a J
Mav. ' Land,' ' country.' Ma is the common Turanian word for
'country'; e.g.^ Ak. ma, mamu ; Samoied mote, mamaru ; f'innic
inaa, Zyrianian 7mi, North Ostiak mu, mi, miv {cf. Lem, 7)iav) ;
Ostiak me-g, me-x ; Lapponic e\-me, ;//rt-d-der; Finnic ma-n-x\tr,
Ersa-Mordvin mo-d^. {cf. ma-da = Gk. Media, i.e., ' T/ie Land ').
So, we find the Earth-goddesses : — the Finnic and Lapponic Maan-
cmo (eino = Ak. )i-efie, Tungusic, Ostiak, Asiatic Turkic, and
OsmanU ana, 'mother,' etc.), "Earth-mother"; the Esthonian
Earth-goddess Maa-cmona ; the Finnic Underworld-goddess Manala
(= Finnic maan ala, "das unter der Erde befindliche " : Castren) ;
and, lastly, the Et. Underworld-goddess Mani, Mana, Lat. Afatiia
{cf. Tina, Tinia). Mav =■ main, is probably an Accusative-form
(77^1?. sup., p. 322); cf the following Accusative-forms; Ak. -d-a,
Tungusic -wa, -ma, -ja ; Samoied and Tcheremiss -;;/, Lapponic -b,
-eb, -V ; Mantchu -be, Mongolic -be-n.
Holaie-z. =^ Holailezi ^' Oi-A\^\\2iJ The iorxa holaiezi occurs, in
Ins. B. The second / has dropped out, as in vesi, aviz {vide sup. in
voc. Aviz). A Gk. a. is sometimes aspirated in Et., e.g., Gk.
^AfKpiaimo-; =. Et. Ham(l)iare. So in Ak. the a- sound = 'a and ha.
NacjioO. =na(p-oO ='Et. nep-os (not the Lat. nepos, borrowed by
the Etruscans in the form nefts), which Festus states meant luxnrio-
sus, and with which Canon Isaac Taylor compares the Albanian
nepes, ' glutton.' Av?0 (the Et. (^ often =/ ; cf. the numeral-forms
cez-pa, sem-(])a)=^ the great Turanian god-name, Ak. An-nab, Nap
(' Heaven '),\£';z«;// ('heaven'), Num, Nu ('top'); Samoied Num,
Ostiak-Sam. Nome, Lapponic Jumal, Finnic Juniala, etc. Strah-
lenberg gives the forms : " Samojedes Numi, Morduini Jumis,
Permecki Jahn, Tomskoi, Ostiaks and Kanskoi Nnn, Oby
Ostiaks Nopp ( = Et. Na'ty), 'God'; Taugi Noae and Samojedi-
Manzela N^ae, 'Heaven'; Tangubti Nainm, 'God.' Cf. the
Ostiak num, ttdm ("the upper"), ni/men, nomen ('over,' 'above'),
the Et. Nove7i-%\\c?,, heaven-gods ; Numa, the legendary king of
Rome, favourite of the gods and establisher of religion {vide.
R. B., Jr., in the Academy, Nov. 12, 1887, p. 323). Lastly, in the
326
April]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
Magyar 7iap, ' sun,' ' day,' we have the exact Et. word, applied to the
Sun-god as the god /cot' t^oxriv.
09. This word is best illustrated by the following list : —
As. Turkic — 7i-d-ii-?i'\
L u-
Mongolic —
Akkadian —
Ostiak—
Akkadian —
-d-il-r J
-d
L Ji-t -21 J
= ' day.'
= ' sun.'
= 'dawn,' 'sun,' ' eye,' ' to rise.'
Yenissei-Ostiak
Kamacintzi —
Arintzi —
Etruscan —
Sabine — -
Hesychios —
Et. Lem. —
f x-a-t
\k-a-tj
r ti-f
iak-( ^
L e-
1
e-gae j
ei-ga J
u-sil
au-sel
= ' sun.'
= 'dawn,' ' sun,' 'eye,' ' to rise.'
= 'sun.'
= rising sun.
= 'sun'(Festus. A loan-word).
= ews, i'TTO 'YvjijJip'Ccv.
0-0 {= Ak. ud) = 'sun.'
Sun-gods and other divinities, including Underworld-gods, are
often, from their burning power, or their cult, or on account of
natural analogies connected with them, regarded as Devourers,
Gapers, Gluttons, etc., like Zeus Laphystios (Herod., vii, 197), or
(in the latest phase of the fancy) the gluttonous solar Herakles of
Greek Comedy.
Zia-zi. =" Likeness + his." Zi^=si {cf. EvisOo, Holaiezi). The
following list illustrates the meaning of zia : —
Akkadian —
z-7e
j'-". 1
1 r
L s-e -a)
= ' face,' ' form,' ' mouth.'
Samoied — ■
= ' face.'
Finnic —
S-7C-i
= 'mouth.'
Etruscan —
z-i -a
(Cippus Perusinus, A 19.)
Et. Lemnos —
z-i -a-T\
= 'face,' 'form.'
Turko-Tatar —
s-7i-r
= 'likeness.'
Vide Lenormant, Etude sur qiielques parties des Syllahaires Cuneifonnes, t,^.
327
April]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1888.
North Ostiak — \i-x-o-r
IMagyar —
Turko Tatar-
Akkadian —
Samoied —
= ' form,' ' phantom,'
sz-a-j = 'mouth.'
//-rt!-3-onlat == Mikeness."
r-/-s-gi = 'Hne.'
s-i~s-~i = 'face' + ?(Saycc, Syl. No. 39c).
Koibal —
Buriat —
r s-e
L s-o
s-e~r-o
r-li-i
s—e-r-ii
s-a-r-a-i
c-a-r-o-i
d~a~r-a
/ )- = ' face.'
Tungusic — -
Possibly the second z in ziazi is connected with such forms as
the Ak. //V/j the Magyar //rt's-onlat, and the Turko-Tatar r/Vgi.
328
Ai'RiL] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The Next Meeting of the Society will be held at 9,
Conduit Street, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesday, ist May,
1888, at 8 p.m., when the following Paper will be read.
Rev. a. Lowy : Old Jewish Legends on Biblical Topics. No. II.
Legendary description of Hell.
ERRATA.
Proceedings, 6th March, 1 888,
Page 261, line lT„for vov read voii.
Page 261, line \b,for of read of, and/c?/- 0 read 3,
329
Ai'Rii,] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE
LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY.
BoTTA, Monuments de Ninive. 5 vols., folio. 1847- 1850.
Place, Ninive et I'Assyrie, 1866-1869. 3 vols., folio.
Brugsch-Bey, Geographische Inschriften Altaegyptische Denkniaeler. Vols.
I— III (Brugsch).
Recueil de Monuments Egyptiens, copies sur lieux et publics par H.
Brugsch et J. Dlimichen. (4 vols., and the text by Diimichen
of vols. 3 and 4. )
DuMrcHEN, Ilistorische Inschriften, &c., ist series, 1867.
2nd series, 1869.
Altaegyptische Kalender-Inschriften, 1886.
Tempel-Inschriften, 1862. 2 vols., folio.
GOLENISCHEFF, Die Mettemichstele. Folio, 1877.
Lep-SIUS, Nubian Grammar, &c., 1880.
De RouGfi, Etudes Egyptologiques. 13 vols., complete to 1880-
Wright, Arabic Grammar and Chrestomathy.
ScHROEDER, Die Phonizische Sprache.
IIaupt, Die Sumerischen Familiengesetze.
SciiRADER, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament. 1872.
Rawlinson, Canon, 6th Ancient Monarchy.
BURKHARDT, Eastern Travels.
Wilkinson, Materia Hieroglyphica, Malta, 1824-30. (Text only.)
Chabas, Melanges Egyptologiques. Series I, III. 1862-1873.
Voyage d'un Egyptien en Syrie, en Phenicie, &c. 4to, 1867.
Le Calendrier des Jours Fastes et Nefastes de I'annee Egyptienne. 8vo. 1877.
E. Gavet, Steles de la XII dynastie au Musee du Louvre.
Ledrain, Les Monuments Egyptiens de la Bibliotheque Nationale.
Nos. I, 2, 3, Memoires de la Mission Archeologique Frani^ais au Caire.
Sarzec, Decouvertes en Chaldee.
Lefebure, Les Hypogees Royaux de Thebes.
Sainte Marie, Mission a Carthage.
Guimet, Annales du Musee Gumiet. Memoires d''Egyptologie.
LEFfeBURE, Le Mythe Osirien. 2nd partie- " Osiris."
Lepsius, Les Metaux dans les Inscriptions Egyptiennes, avec notes par W. Berend.
D. G. Lyon, An Assyrian Manual.
A. Amiaud and L. Mechineau, Tableau Compare des ficritures Babyloniennes
et Assyriennes.
Erman, Aegypten u. Agyptisches Leben im Altertum.
2 parts, Mittheilungen aus der .Sammlung der Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer.
ROBIOU, Croyances de I'figypte a I'epoque des Pyramides.
Recherches sur le Calendrier en figypte et sur le chronologie des Lagides.
Pog.non, Les Inscriptions Babyloniennes du Wadi Brissa.
April] PROCEEDINGS.
NOTICES.
Subscriptions to the Society become due on the ist of January
each year. Those Members in arrear for the current year are
requested to send the amount ;£i is. at once to the Treasure?-,
B. T. BosANQUET, Esq., 54, St. James's Street, S.W.
Papers proposed to be read at the Monthly Meetings must be
sent to the Secretary on or before the loth of the preceding month.
Members having New Members to propose are requested to sentl
in the names of the Candidates on or before the loth of the month
preceding the meeting at which the names are to be submitted to
the Council. On application, the proper nomination forms may be
obtained from the Secretary.
Vol. IX, Part 2, of the " Transactions " of the Society is in
the press. Only a few complete sets of the "Transactions" of
the Society now remain ; they may be obtained by application to
the Secretary, W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A., 11, Hart Street,
Blooms bury, W.C.
The Library of the Society, at 11, Hart Street, Bloomsbury,
W.C, is open to Members on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,
between the hours of 11 and 4, for the general business of the
Society,
As a new list of Members will shortly be printed. Members are
requested to send any corrections or additions they may wish to
have made in the list which was published in Vol. VHI, Part 3.
Members are recommended to carefully preserve their copies of
the " Proceedings," as they will not be reprinted at the end of the
Volume of " Transactions," and if lost can only be supplied at a
charge for each Part, or for the Volumes.
?v
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
tTbe Bron5e ©rnaments of tbe
lp>alace (Bates from Balawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, II, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordance with the terms of the original pros])ectus, the price for
each part is now raised to ^i loi-. ; to Members of the Society (the original
price) ^11^.
Society of Biblical Archeology.
COUNCIL, 1888.
President : —
P. LE Page Rendu f.
Vice- Presidents
Rev. Frederick Chari.es Cook, M.A., Canon of Kxctcr.
Lord Halsbury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon, W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., &c., Bishop of Durlmm.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bail., D.C.L., jM.D., &c., &r.
J. Manship Norman, M.A.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbmv.
/
Council : —
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, M.P., &c. Rev. Albert Lowy.
Rev. Charles James Ball. Rev. James Marshall.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A. i F. D. Mocatta
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Cai'es.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, D.D
Thomas Chrisiv, F.L.S.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A. Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
Honorary Treasurer — Bernard T. I'osanquet.
Secretary — W. Harry Ryi.ands, F.vS.A.
Honorary Secretary for Foreii^n Correspondence — Prof. A. IT. .Sayce, M.A.
Honorary Librarian — William Simi'son, 1'M\.('..S.
iiAK'inscN AMI sci.ss, li^iMii.s i\ i KI.]^,^^■^ 'i > ■ iiii; ^'Alt■s■|^, st. mak'iin's i.ank
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
J. Pollard.
F. G. PIilton Price, F.S.A.
E. TowRY Whyte, M.'A.
VOL. X. Part 7.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
-^M
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION.
Sixtli Meeting, \st May, 1888.
^je*
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Rev. a. Low y. — Old Jewish Legends on Biblical Topics. No. IL
Legendary Description of Hell m-^A'^
Dr. Karl Piehl. — Sur I'age de la grotte dite Specs Artemidos ... 343345
RoBT. Brown, Junr., F.S.A. — The Etruscan Inscriptions of
Lemnos {contiiiitcd) 346-35S
Rev. C. J. Ball. — Inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar II.
VI. The Cylinder marked 6S-7-9. I 359^368
Rev. C. J. Ball. — Cylinder of Nebuchadrezzar (8 //a/t-j)
Prof. Golenischeff. — Le cachet bilingue du roi Tarkiitimme ... 369-371
Rev. H. G. Tomkins. — The Name Genuliath l']z
P. le p. Renouf {President). — Remarks. The Keneblu and the
Semitic .South 373^376
Prof. A. H. Sayce.— Some Greek Graffiti from Abydos (Plate) ... 377-388
#;#
published at
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
1888.
[No. LXXVI.]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHyEOLOGY.
II, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
PRICE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
Vol.
\'ol.
To Membeks.
To Non-
Members
S.
d.
s. d.
I, I'n
It I
10
6
12 6
I, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
II, ,
, I
s
0
10 6
II, ,
, 2
8
0
10 6
ill, ,
, I
8
0
10 6
III, ,
2
8
0
10 6
IV, ,
I
10
6
12 6
IV, ,
2
10
6
12 6
V, ,
, I
12
6
15 0
V, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
VI, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
VI, .
, 2
lO
6
12 6
VII, ,
, I
7
6
10 6
VII, ,
, 2
10
6
12 6
VII, .
, 3
10
6
12 6
VIIL ,
, I
10
6
12 6
VIII, ,
2
10
6
12 6
VIII, ,
, 3
10
6
12 6
IX, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
P
ROC
:eedings.
I, St
•ssion
1878-
-79
2
0
2 6
II,
1879-
-80
2
0
2 6
in,
1880-81
4
0
5 0
IV,
iSSi-
-82
4
0
5 0
V.
,,
1SS2-
-S3
4
0
50
VI,
,.
1S83-
-S4
5
0
6 0
VII,
1884-85
5
0
6 0
VIII,
1S85
-86
5
0
6 0
IX,
, .
1886
-87
2
0 per
Tail .. 26
X,
1887-
-88
2
0 ..
,, in iirogioss 2 6
A few cuniplclc sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may be
obtained on application to the Secretary, W. H. Rylands, F.S.A., li, Hart
Street, IMoomshury, W.C.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
VOL. X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
Sixth Meeting, ist May, 1888.
P. LE PAGE RENOUF, Esq., President,
IN THE CHAIR.
-^C^^C^-
The following Presents were announced, and thanks
ordered to be returned to the Donors : —
From the Author: — Les Obligations en Droit :^gyptien. Com-
pare aux autres droits de I'antiquite. Par Prof. Eugene
Revillout. 8vo. Paris. 1886.
From the Author : — Linguistic Philosophy. By G. Taidan. 8vo.
Cairo. 1888. (In Arabic.)
From Rev. H. G. Tomkins : — Report of the Committee appointed
for the purpose of procuring Racial Photographs from the
Ancient Egyptian Pictures and Sculptures. Drawn up by
W. N. Flinders Petrie, with remarks on Mr. Petrie's collection
of Ethnographic types in Egypt. By Rev. H. G. Tomkins.
British Association. Section H. Manchester Meeting, 1887.
From the Author : — Notizie e Documenti sulla storia della
Farmacia e dell' Empirismo in Roma. By Sig. Cav.
Antonino Bertolotti. 8vo. 1888.
Estratto dal " Monitoire dei Farmacisti."
[No. LXXVI.] 331 2 E
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCILKOLOGY. [1888.
From the Author : — A Newly Discovered Key to BibUcal
Chronology. By J. Schwartz. 8vo. January, 1888.
Reprinted from the Bibliotheca Sacra.
From the Author : — The Prayer of Navajo Shaman. By Dr.
Washington Matthews, U.S.A. Army Medical Museum. 4to.
January, 1888. Washington, U.S.A.
From W. H. Rylands : — Verhandlungen des VII Internationalen
Orientalisten-Congresses gehalten in Wien im Jahre 1886.
Arische Section. 8vo. Vien. 1888.
The following were nominated for election at the next
Meeting on June 5th, 1888 : —
Rev. Frederic Howlett, M.A., F.R.A.S., East Tisted Rectory,
Altonj Hants.
Miss Kenedy, 4, West Cedar Street, Boston, U.S.A.
Rev. J. H. Champion McGill, M.A., Thornton Heath, Surrey,
The Hon. Miss Plunkett, 61, Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington, W.
The following were submitted for election, and elected
Members of the Society, having been nominated on March
6th, 1888:—
Mrs. W. D. Paine, Cockshot Hill, Reigate.
Rev. C. M. Cobern, M.A., PhD., Cass Avenue M. E. Church,
Detroit, Mich., U.S.A.
Rev. A. Lowy, continuing his series of Old Jewi.^h
Legends on Biblical Topics, read a Paper entitled "Legend-
ary Description of Hell."
Remarks were added by Canon Becchey, Dr. Gaster,
Dr. S. Louis, Rev. J. Marshall, Sir Philip Magnus, Mr. W.
.St. C. Boscawen, Dr. Friedlander, Rev. a Lowy, and the
President.
Thanks were returned for this communication.
May i] proceedings. [iS88.
OLD JEWISH LEGENDS ON BIBLICAL TOPICS.
IL— LEGENDARY DESCRIPTION OF HELL.
By Rev. A. Lowy.
The ancient Jewish legends are now received as the ordinary
outcome of popular folk-lore, and therefore are no longer subject to
derision and hostile criticism. Arising from the infantine state of the
people, they carry within their core interesting fragments of ethnical
history, and the primitive efforts to solve speculative problems.
They contain a goodly amount of world-wisdom put forth in sober
earnestness, and are mixed up with humorous condemnation now of
quackery, now of cowardly conduct towards fellow-creatures. Home-
truths have in this way come down to us in allegorical disguises, the
sense of which can be easily divined by the reader.
I propose to submit to this Society my studies on the subject
of Hell in two lectures. The first embraces the references to the
nether-world as mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the
earlier Hebraic writings of the Jews after the close of the Bible ;
and my second lecture, to be given during the next session of our
Society, will be devoted to an inquiry into the comparative mytho-
logy of Hell.
When we deduct all allusions which a candid mind may discover
in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning doctrinal theology, there re-
mains a neutral residue of interesting references to popular opinions
regarding the state of those who depart from the sphere of mortals.
These references to an after-state are scattered over the entire col-
lection of the Hebrew Scriptures. Very frequently they are to be
found in that poetic imagery which, in a great many instances,
owes its origin to primeval traditions and to ancient idiomatic
expressions which characterise the language of the people. I shall
confine my remarks to the vestiges of Hebraic folklore as traceable
in the books of prose and poetry of the ancient Jews, and shall con-
form to the wise rule of our Society, by forbearing from encroaching
wittingly on the province of Jewish or of Christian theology.
333 2 E 2
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
In the Anglican version of the Old Testament the word " hell "
occurs in thirty different passages, and this word has been defined as
being synonymous with the grave, or with the resting place of the
departed. In no instance does it mean a place for pu7iishme7it of
sinners. The revisers of the " Authorised Version," apprehending
perhaps that the word " hell " might be interpreted in a different and
a peculiarly doctrinal sense, have in most instances expunged this
rendering and replaced it by the word sheol, or by one of the
synonyms of sheol. It has been generally supposed that sheol means
a pit. This may originally have been the case ; but there can be no
doubt that sheol implied something extremely mysterious.
According to a common impression, which the Mosaic law sought
to remove from the minds of the people, the denizens of the nether-
world could be approached by the consulter of oboth, which the
English version, for want of a better term, renders by " familiar
spirits." A person anxious to lift the veil of coming events would
betake himself to the professional communicant with the departed,
who would then pretend to bring up the dead, or would cause a
voice to arise from the earth and afford the desired oracular infor-
mation* (Isaiah viii ; see also i Samuel xxviii, 7, et seq.). The
expulsion of wizards from the land of the Israelites appears likewise
to have been connected with the forbidden practice of exorcism.
It may here also be noticed that oboth, the plural of ob, is men-
tioned in the Pentateuch as the proper name of a place (Numbers
xxi, II, and xxxiii, 43 and 44). In these instances oboth is recorded
together with other names of localities which were connected with
idolatrous sanctuaries and deities. It may therefore be assumed that
Oboth, as a proper name, signifies a place where the dead could be
consulted.
Returning to the Hebrew term designating the nether-world, we
find that the people were reproached for making a compact with
sheol ;\ and although an objection may be raised that this is a mere
poetical figure, it cannot be denied that, in most cases, such a figure
derives its significance from being based on widely spread proverbial
* The Hebrew word jidoni, which the English version renders " wizard,"
may be a compound of the viords jadd, "to know," and one.h, "the answer, or
the answerer." The final i is employed to denote not only patronymics and
gentilitial terms, but shows also that persons indicated by this termination belong
to some particularised class of the people.
+ Isaiah xxviii, 15.
334
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
or popular sayings, out of which the poet fashions his most fascinating
and enduring creations.
In the Hebrew Bible the word sheol is employed in two totally
different ways. In the first place sheol is regarded as a huge and
insatiable monster* whose belly can never be filled ; it takes a long
and deep breath before it swallows up entire multitudes of those who
pass from this earth into the realms of complete isolation ;t it refuses
to release from its clutches those who have become its prey, % and in
its cruelty it rivals the fierceness of human jealousy. § In regard to
its insatiability it is equal to the Abado?i, a name which is supposed
to signify perdition, but only in the sense of showing that persons
had been lost to the companionship of their mortal surroundings,
without a chance of recall.
Generally, however, sheol is not personified, but is treated as a
local habitation. According to the ancient propagators of folk-lore, it
was situated in the depths of the earth, or below the earth. || Its
profundity could not be fathomed by man. No mortal, whether good
or bad, could escape from its power. Those who had to undergo
sorrows in this life, took down into sheol the inextinguishable re-
membrance of unrelieved anxieties (see, for example. Genesis xxxvii,
35). Men who misused the opportunities of their lives, and became,
through misdeeds, weary of their existence, were speedily hurled
down from the abode of their evil doings, and were drawn into
sheol by snares, cords and pitfalls. The gates which lead into
the nether-world are mentioned several times with reference to the
departure of the dying. At a future time I shall have to advert
to the important part which the several references to the gates
of the nether- world play in international folk-lore. In the interior
of sheol there were various gradations of depth, and there were
special recesses which were called the "chambers of death" (Proverbs
vii, 27). Here also were housed the Rephaim, whose remembrance is
enshrouded in ancient myths of the Hebrews and the Phoenicians.
Once objects of terror on earth, they now served as a representation
* Prov. xxvii, 20. t Isaiah v, 14 ; Habakkuk ii, 14.
X Hosea xiii, 14. § Song of Solomon viii, 7.
II It seems useless to consider the passage (Psl. xlix, 14) where, according to
the English version, the Hebrew word sheolis connected with the doom of sheep.
This verse, like other passages in the Psalm, is capable of other interpretations ;
and the Hebrew text altogether is well known to contain doubtful readings.
335
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
of irrecoverable feebleness. The ancients who handed down to
posterity the traditions of sheol undoubtedly were guided by a
consideration of the structure of sepulchres as existing in their
own lands.* Persons, though of low degree, who had attained to
opulence, were found desirous of perpetuating their memory by the
erection of chambered tombs hewn in the rocks, as may be gathered
from a scathing rebuke which Shebna, an unworthy upstart, received
in the time of Isaiah for his vain attempt to immortalise himself in
his own grave (Isaiah xxii, 16-18).
The nether-world is also designated zalmaveth, which is described
as being entered by terrifying gates. The term halmaveth is con-
sidered to be divisible into two words : zel (shadow), maveth
(death). It is more likely that this word was pronounced zab/mth,
and that although the current rendering is widely accepted and rests
on a large number of lexical authorities, the original word meant
nothing else but " impenetrable darkness." In this signification it
is frequently associated with the word dwsherJi, which means a
comparatively lesser degree of gloom. Zalmuth would then convey
the idea that the departed repose in a region of such impenetrable
obscurity as could not be dispelled by any glare of light.
The several pictures of a nether-world which I have here
arranged side by side were sufficient for the further developement
of legends, which were gradually extended in Palestine and Baby-
lonia, and on being associated with foreign folk-lore were multiplied
to an enormous extent after the destruction of the Second Temple.
Passages in the Bible which allude to fire consuming the sinners
if.e. Isaiah Ixvi, 24; Malachi iii, 19) were also quoted in connection
with Jewish legends, and such passages form a new basis for the
traditions concerning the departure from this world, and the exist-
ence of hell.
The experiences which the dying and the dead have to undergo
in arriving at the grave have been described in paraphrases of the
Bible, in the Talmud and the Midrash, and in old monographs of
* It is now well known, through the investigations instituted by various
explorers, especially by those of the Palestine Exploration Fund, that in the
regions which have been searched, tombs have been laid open which contained
rock-hewn chambers for the reception of the dead. The forms of the chambers
for the dead are reflected in the folk-lore and the consequent poetic metaphors
of the ancient Israelites.
May i] TROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
various ages.* Of these several accounts I will give the essential
outlines.
Four angels wait upon man at the hour of his departure from
this world. When the soul is on the point of quitting its temporary
tenement, a cry issues forth, saying " Oh earth, oh earth, on which I
wandered, do thou save me from the sentence of death." Answereth
the first angel, " The earth with the fulness thereof belongeth to the
Lord." Crieth the voice for the second time, "Oh my brethren, my
kinsfolk, my family endeared unto me, arise and deliver me from the
sentence of death." The second angel answereth and sayeth, "No
man can rescue his brother man, nor can he offer a ransom for him."
The voice crieth for the third time, " My Mammon, oh my Mam-
mon, so dear unto me, save me from the sentence of death."
Sayeth the third angel, " The earth with the fulness thereof be-
longeth to the Lord." For the fourth time the voice cryeth, saying,
" Oh my good deeds, oh my good deeds, save me from the sentence
of death." The fourth angel respondeth, and sayeth, " Now thou
hast said what is right and fair. Come forth, follow me, for unto
thee applies the ancient promise, 'thy righteous deeds shall go
before thee.'" This poetical piece, which may be termed a psalm
of death, has found its way into mediaeval collections of Oriental
and European tales and parables, many of which have been pub-
lished abroad and also in this country. t
But the course of folk-lore concerning death does not always
run as smoothly as in the foregoing appeal of the dying man. The
old traditions are copiously stored with descriptions of severe trials,
even before the portals of Gehinnom (Gehenna) are reached. Here
it may be noticed as highly suggestive that the sins of man are
engraven on his bones, whilst the good acts of man are written
on his right hand ; but the merits and demerits of man are only
recognisable at the time of his departure from this world. After
death comes the " c/iibiit ha-keber" or sepulchral suffering. An
authority upon this subject being asked what is the process of
sepulchral suffering answered : When man is deposited in his resting
place, there comes the angel of death to the grave, and strikes
the dead, saying, stand up and tell me thy name. The dead replies,
* See especially " Massecheth Gehinnom," which contains a fair but not
a complete assemblage of notes on Hell.
+ See for example Gesta Romanoriim.
337
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCIL^iOLOGV. [1888.
my name is known unto Him who spake and the world came
into being, but I no longer remember how I was called. The
soul then returns unto its former frame, and man is arraigned
and subjected to trial. The punishing angel consists partly of
fire and bears a fiery head-covering. In his hand he holds an
iron chain, with which he strikes the dead, and the limbs fall
asunder ; a second blow is dealt, and the skeleton falls to pieces.
The attending angels then gather up the bones, and arrange them
as they were before. A third blow, and the man is tried and
treated according to his deserts. The same acts are performed
on the second day. On the third day the departed is treated
with increased rigour. Blows are struck on his eyes because he
would not see, on his ears because he would not hear, on his
lips because they uttered profanities, on his tongue because it bore
false testimony against his neighbour, on his feet because they
ran toward evil-doing. The afflictions of the grave are more general
than the torments of hell. The latter may come upon mature
adults, but the miseries of the grave are also apportioned unto
the righteous, unto babes taken away from the breast of their
mother ; and even to those whose life was extinct ere they were
brought into the world. A question was asked, what shall man
do to escape the impending sufferings? Man shall attach himself
to pious deeds, submit to rebuke, perform acts of charity, be
hospitable unto strangers, be devout in religious services. Such
a man, even if he die beyond the confines of the Holy Land on
a Sabbath day, undergoes neither the sufferings of the grave nor
the severities of hell. The trials man has to endure are threefold :
they are those in the grave, in hell, and in heaven. If he be not
guilty of grievous sin, his acquittal is granted unto him forthwith,
otherwise his punishment grows into doleful length, and he is
committed to hell.
In Jewish writings "hell" was termed Ge/n'/inom (Gehenna). This
name, as is generally supposed, has been derived from notices of the
Valley of Hinnom which occur in various historical and prophetic
books of the Bible (for example, in II Kings, xxiii, 15), as originally
designating a locality where the adorers of the idol Moloch burnt
their children, or " made their children pass through the fire."
The Valley of Hmnom formed an immense burial place (Jeremiah,
xix, 2) and was contiguous to the Holy City. Commencing at
the west of the Jaffa Gate, it passed along the N.W. of Jerusalem,
338
May i] proceedings. [1888.
reached the Tombs of the Kings, and with a precipitous descent
of nearly 700 feet below its starting point, it joined in the south the
Valley of Jehoshaphat, and terminated at the Well of Job. In this
Valley of Hinnom the Moloch temple seems to have occupied a
spot called Tofeth, which is explained as signifying a place for the
burning of human remains. Sheol, or the nether-world, received
therefore as a synonym the word Tofeth, which was also pronounced
Tofteh (Isaiah xxx, 33). Such a locality was well adapted to serve
as a new basis for the legends of hell.
The situation of Gehinnom is a subject upon which the popular
traditions differ very conspicuously. Some find its site beneath the
earth or within the bowels of the earth ; some place it above the
firmament ; others are of opinion that it is beyond the " dark moun-
tains." The " dark mountains " form a special cycle of folk-lore,
and it seems possible to note the region in which they were an
object of terror. In ancient Jewish traditions it is stated that when
Alexander the Great invaded Africa, his march was impeded by
the thick impenetrable darkness of these mythical mountains. The
old fathers of folk-lore were therefore well justified in placing
Gehinnom in a region which was inaccessible to man's exploration.
Allusions to these dark mountains occur not only in the Talmud
(see for instance Tamid, fol. 32 b), but also in other literatures,
for example in the poetic folk-lore of the Syrians.
There are seven habitations in Hell. Their names are Sheol,
Abadon, Zahnaveth, Erez-tachtith (lowermost earth), Neshijah,
(oblivion), Gehinnotn (Gehenna) and Dumah (silence). Dumah
is held to be a synonymous substitute for Chazar-maveth (court
of death). It received this designation as indicating the enclosure
where the spirits of the departed assemble. The idea that rivers of
terror passed through hell was not alien to the folk-lore of the
ancients, for we find that in connection with sheol there are men-
tioned the rivers of belial, which were remembered with horror by
those who were to be tied down by the cords of death (II Samuel
xxii, 5 — 7 ; Psalms xviii, 5, et seq.)
Out of hell there rise pillars of fire mountain-high ; burning
surfaces which resemble the Dead Sea, and burning embers which
are like huge blocks of stone. Hell contains rivers of pitch and
brimstone, which roll along and render red hot one beam after
another of the mysterious rothem-XxeQ. Here the sinner is struck on
the face by the angel of destruction ; other angels drive him into
339
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY. [iS88.
the fire which swallows him altogether. He is only released if he
can show some redeeming act of goodness. In such case he escapes
the dreaded judgment, for it is said, " Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil : Thy rod and Thy
staff will comfort me."
One of the ancient inquirers into the nature of Gehenna met
the prophet Elijah, who took him to the gate of hell. Here he saw
men drawn up by their hands, by their nostrils, by their tongues,
by their feet, and by other parts of the body. There, in true
Dantesque style, women were suspended by their breasts, men
suspended by the sockets of their eyes ; men devouring each other;
men devouring glowing embers ; living men eaten up by worms.
Others were devouring sand until their teeth were broken, because
in their lifetime they feasted on plunder which seemed sweet unto
their tastes. Men were seen there who were thrust from fire into
snow and from snow into fire. An angel was appointed for the
infliction of various tortures, and the sinner ran the gauntlet of
successive punishments, until all the wrongs he had done on earth
were expiated.
In this plight the sufferer is compared to a debtor in the hands
of his creditors, who divide his possessions among themselves. Man
in hell is committed to the charge of angels of destruction. Among
persons subject to the torments of hell are mentioned husbands
who allow themselves to be gaided by the weaker sex; also the
wealthy men of Babylon, they being notorious for their uncharitable
treatment of the poor. The severest fate awaited the members of
the medical profession. A proverb was current : " The best of
physicians are fit for hell." Such was the opinion of Tahnudists
in the early centuries of the common era. The long continuance of
this opinion is proved by the fact that 500 years after the close of
the Babylonian Talmud, its famous commentator, Rashi, observed :
" The physician dreads no illness while he feasts of the richest
viands ; he never thinks of God, and expedites many souls out of
this world. He has good opportunities for curing the poor, but he
does not use them conscientiously."
There are some who go down to hell in despair of rising again.
Such are those who desecrate domestic purity ; who bring a thrill of
shame upon their fellow men ; who invoke the name of the Deity
when uttering a lie, and who enkindle matrimonial strife. On the
340
May i] proceedings. [iS88.
eve of Sabbath they are lodged between mountains of snow, and on
the going out of Sabbath they are brought back into hell fire.
After the lapse of twelve months the sinners are turned into
ashes, which the wind scatters to be trodden down under the feet of
the righteous. At the close of twelve months their souls are restored
unto their frames, and as they go out of hell their faces are blackened
like soot adhering to a cauldron. I'hey then acknowledge the justice
of their sentence, and declare that the judgment passed upon them was
meted out according to their past actions. Idolaters have to pass
through seven regions of fire, and in each sphere they spend twelve
months. A stream of fire issues forth from the Mercy Seat of Divine
Glory ; it descends upon them, and passes from one of the worlds
unto the other.
Three gates lead into hell : one is in the desert, one at the
bottom of the sea, one amongst the habitations of man. The
entrance to hell is even in Jerusalem, an idea which probably owes
its origin to the tradition current about the Valley of Hinnom, as
has been previously explained. There are seven habitations or
regions in hell. The general name for these seven divisions is the
Aramaic term medura (^^"lTlt2). This word literally means a dwelling,
and has, in its origin, wide ramifications through the Semitic
languages. Medura is derived from dur (in Hebrew giir) to dwell.
The phrase in Genesis xxxii, 5, " I have dwelt with Laban," is in
Hebrew //;/ Laban garti, and in Aramaic /;;/ Laban darith. We all
are familiar with derivatives of this verb which have crept into well-
known names. The town in Turkish Kurdistan with the meaning
''■ dwelling of Bekir" is called Diarbekir. Our daily papers speaking
continually of the troubles of Egyptian taxes make us acquainted
with the daira or the domain of the Khedif This word dur is
employed when folk-lorists allude to the seven habitations, the
seven nieduras of hell. Now I will show why this word has become
a favourite term with those who give us an insight into the legends
of hell. In Isaiah xxx, 30, medurah occurs in an ambiguous
signification. It there means a pile of fire or may be a habitation.
And as the entire verse in its magnificent poetry supplied the
framers of legends of hell with powerful suggestions, the word
medurah came to be employed both as a habitation, and as a pile
of fire in hell. The verse in Isaiah fully bears out this explanation
of the double use of medurah: "Since yesterday Tofteh (the
burning station) has been prepared. It is ready even for the king
341
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-LOLOGY. [i88S.
(of Assyria). He has deepened, he has widened its ??iedura/i
(habitation or flame). Fire and wood abound. The blast of the
Lord is hke a stream of liquid brimstone glowing therein." Each
of the seven habitations of hell has 2,000 houses ; in each house
there are seven windows, and in each window are 2,000 cruses
filled with the substance of gall, and in these habitations the
delinquents of various conditions serve their sentences of torture.
According to another version of this legend there are in each of
the seven regions 6,000 houses, in each house 6,000 windows, in
each window 6,000 cruses of gall. Regarding the dimensions of
each region of hell there are various legends. According to one
legend, each region is 100 miles in length and 50 miles in breadth.
According to another legend, hell has a length which would require
300 years to walk through. The same number of years would be
occupied in travelling through its breadth, consequently it would
consume 2,100 years to pass from one end to another. Another
legend arrives at the following estimate of the extent of hell. " Egypt
has 400 square parasangs ; Ethiopia is sixty times larger than Egypt,
the ' Garden ' is sixty times larger than Ethiopia, Eden is sixty
times larger than the 'Garden,' and Gehenna is sixty times larger
than Eden. The whole world appears like a lid covering the cauldron
of hell." (Pesachim 94a.) Fiery lions are in some legends described
as lurking in numerous pits. They fall upon the doomed sinner
and devour him. He is re-fashioned, to be re-devoured, so that he
passes from fire to fire. At length the sinner is pardoned; the
Judge above "does not contend for ever, nor is He always wroth
with the afflicted spirit and with the quailing soul."
In reviewing this subject at a future time from a different stand-
point, I will show the connection which exists between this species of
folk-lore and the kindred traditions of Asiatic and European nations.
I shall then have an opportunity of pointing out the marked influence
which old Jewish legends, in common with other legends, have
exercised upon subsequent productions of literature.
342
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
SUR L'AGE DE LA GROTTE DITE SPECS ARTEMIDOS.
Par Karl Piehl.
En remontant le Nil au mois de Decembre dernier, je me
suis arrete a plusieurs lieux et entre autre a Beni-Hassan, d'ou j'ai
fait une excursion a Stabel Antar* ou, comme on I'appelle aussi,
Spe'os Artemidos.
En examinant d'une maniere hative les inscriptions de cette
ancienne carriere, je suis arrive a un resultat qui me fait envisager
I'origine de ce speos sous un autre jour que celui des savants qui
avant moi ont visite cet endroit. A partir de Champollion, qui le
premierf a decrit notre monument, jusqu'a M. Maspero, qui tout
dernibrementj en a parle', tout le monde semble regarder le roi
Thotmes III comme fondateur de Speos Artemidos, ou au moins
comme celui qui en a commence la decoration. La grande in-
scription, congue au nom de la reine Hatasu que M. Golenischeff
a copiee et publiee d'une fagon si consciencieuse§ d'apres I'original,
trace au dessus de I'entree de la grotte, aurait peut-etre du porter
la pensee a un autre pharaon que Thotmes III, comme fondateur
de notre monument. Toutefois, I'endroit ou cette derniere inscrip
tion a ete mise ne semble pas bien choisi par rapport a la disposition
des colonnes qui forment la galerie d'entree du sanctuaire. C'est
que les 42 lignes verticales dont consiste le texte de Hatasu,
occupent une partie du mur au-dessus des deux colonnes occi-
dentales, tandisque la surface de mur qui s'etend au-dessus des
deux colonnes orientales de I'entree est restee tout-a-fait libre de
textes et de decorations. On a done, jusqu'a un certain degre,
ete autorise a regarder Stabel Antar et I'inscription, tracee au-dessus
de I'ouverture qui y mene, comme independants I'un de I'autre.
* II parait qu'on confond quelquefois ce Stabel Antar avec d'autres localites
du meme nom, dont il y a plusieurs en Egypte, p. ex. pres de Siout, etc.
t Champollion, Notices, II, page 322 et suiv.
X Maspero, V At cheologie Egyptienne, page 42.
§ Recueil de Vieweg, VI, page 20 et planche ; Recueil de Vieweg, III,
pages 1—3.
343
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY. [i8S8.
Les observations que j'ai faites sur le lieu memo m'amenent
pourtant a affirmer deja maintenant que les deux sent etroitement
lies, I'un a I'autre, et par consequent que Stabel Antar est une
ceuvre du regne de la reine Hatasu. En effet, le vide laisse sur
le mur, au-dessus des deux colonnes orientales de I'entree, pent
fort bien s'expliquer comme non intentionel. Peut-etre avait-on
deja compose une representation ou un texte, destines a remplir
la lacune, lorsqu'un accident quelconque, p. ex. la mort de Hatasu,
est venu interrompre le travail.
Les inscriptions qu'on a regardees jusqu'a present comme les
plus anciennes de I'interieur de Speos Artemidos, se trouvent sur les
piliers de la galerie et portent, comme nous I'avons dit, le nom de
Thotmes III. Partout ailleurs, on ne voit que les cartouches de
Seti I. En etudiant de tres-pres les textes qui occupent la paroi
sud-est de la galerie, k gauche de la porte qui mene au speos, propre-
ment dit, on peut constater que les cartouches de Seti I, qui s'y
trouvent, sont d'une date posterieure au corps meme des textes.
C'est que le nom du roi a ete grave en creux, tandisque le reste de
I'inscription parait avoir ete sculpte en relief. En regardant avec
beaucoup de soin, on en arrive a modifier un peu cette observation.
Voici le resultat definitif auquel alors on parvient. Le nom de
Seti I ainsi que le signe ^ — ^, marque de la seconde personne du
pronom personnel du masculin, a quelques passages pres, ou il ne
renvoie pas au nom de Seti, ont ete traces en creux, le reste est en
relief. II faut done qu'il y ait ici une usurpation de Seti, qui a sub-
stitue ses cartouches a ceux d'un autre pharaon. Ce dernier pharaon
a du etre une femme, car autrement on ne salt pas comment expliquer
les surcharges frequentes du signe ^- — ^. Cette derniere supposition
est appuyee par le fait que dans certains endroits de nos textes, ou
Ton devait s*attendre a un v_^ , on trouve au lieu de celui-la, ou
s=3, ^ ou bien — h — . De meme, le mot " fils " ^->s^ , qualification
par laquelle les dieux saluent le roi, a-t-elle quelquefois la forme de
^~j^ " fille." Ces circonstances reunies, nous amenent avec necessite
a supposer que I'inscription dont nous parlons, a ete originairement
faite par Hatasu, la seule reine qui ait regne dans des conditions,
([ui nous permettent de chercher son nom ici. Thotmes III et
Seti I, au temoignage des monuments, sont les pharaons qui surtout
sc sont distingues comme persecuteurs de la memoire de Hatasu, et
dans le cas present il ne serait point impossible que le second ait
accompli ce que le premier a commence.
344
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
Le resultat de nos observations est done le suivant : La grotte
connue sous le nom de Speos Artemidos a probablement ete faite
par la reine Hatasu qui — ceci peut-etre affirme avec certitude — en a
commence la decoration, tant ^ I'exterieur, qu'a I'interieur.
Jusqu'a quel point les rois Thotmt^s III et Seti I ont usurpe sur
les droits de la reine celebre, a cette question je ne puis repondre,
une maladie serieuse m'ayant defendu de m'arreter a Stabel x'Vntar,
lorsque cette fois j'ai descendu le Nil. J'espere qu'un autre, plus
heureux que moi, pourra trouver la solution de ce probleme inte-
ressant.*
Le Caire, 17 Avril, 1881.
* Les textes qui nous occupent se voient chez Champollion {Notices II,
pages 328 — 332) dont la copie a quelques points pres est exacte.
345
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
THE ETRUSCAN INSCRIPTIONS OF LEMNOS {continued).
By Robert Brown, Junr., F.S.A.
I.
Inscription B.
holaiezi : (f)okiasiaie \ zeronaiO : evisOo :
'Of- Alalia that-belonged-to-Phokaia,' Serranus says,
toverojna
(' my) spear-point (is ').
Notes.
The words holaiezi, zeronaiO, and evisOo have been explained
in the Notes on Ins. A (vide sup. pps. 322 — 6). EvisOo, lit. " With-
his-tongue (says "), is here the equivalent of the verb.
<^okiasiale. = ^wKaia-si-ale = 'Phokaia' -f 'its' + 'of = 'of
Phokaia's,' i.e., (when speaking of a past event) " That-belonged-to-
Phokaia." The pronominal suffix -si has been already explained
(vide Slip, in voc. EvisOo).
-ale. = the Genitive-ending -ali, -al, the e being, according to
Pauli, a weakened /.* In a Bilingual Inscription (Fab. No. 792)
the Et. Cain-rt/ is rendered by the Lat. Cainnia natus ; hence
a/= 'of,' ('born) of,' and a statue of Apollo, found at Picenum, is
inscribed "Jupetr-?// Epure," = " Epure (son) of Jupiter." Hence
ul also = ' of,' (' born) of,' (' son) of,' etc. In connexion with descent,
al is used as a matronymic, ul as a patronymic ; but, more generally,
al and ul signify 'of in a possessive sense, i.e., "belonging to;"
and, as Prof Sayce observes, " the suffix -/, -la, or -le is ascertained
to have pretty much the same meaning as -7ia or -7ie {-ni) by a bi-
lingual," and ^^-na or -ni we learn from the bilingual inscriptions
signified 'belonging to.'"t Now, in Akkadian the suffix "-na
designates the genitive; the formation of the genitive by means
of the suffix -na, -niu, -in, -ni, is common to all the Turanian or
* Vide Pauli, Die etruskischen Zahlworter, 83. Pauli well compares the Et.
larOi-ale, slic-ale, and aprinQv-ale, when treating of this case-ending.
t Etruscan Notes. In the Academy, Sept. 7, 1878. " In Finnic grammar the
desinence na signifies 'belonging to.'" (Taylor, Etruscan Researches, 275).
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
Altaic languages without exception, in the Ugro-Finnic, the Samoy-
edic, the Turko-Tataric, the Mongolic, the Tungusic, and the Corea-
Japanese groups." * And, further, " besides the casual suffixes of the
first formation, there exists in Akkadian a second series formed by
taking attributive roots from the vocabulary of the language. Thus :
The sign of the dative, -ra^ -r, is the root ra, ' to bear towards.
The sign of the possessive, -lal, is the root lal, 'to take.'
This grammatical process is essentially Turanian, and is entirely
foreign to the other families of languages. We find numerous
instances of it in the Magyar." f And I venture to think that
we find an instance of it here in the Etruscan. Thus, the Ak. noun
enmm forms the Gen. ennun-na, and the Possessive ennun-lal, with
an " etat emphatique " ennuii-na-lal, which combines the Gen. form.
But, as a rule, in case-possessing languages, the Genitive, the case
expressing \k\Q. genus or kind, is an equivalent of the Possessive case,
and e.g., in English is called the Possessive case. As, then, in Ak. the
Possessive case thus combines the Gen. form, so, in another language
of the same family, being also a dialect without a distinct Possessive
case, the Gen. might very probably combine the Possessive form.
Now, the Ak. /-«/, " to take," reappears in an abraded form in
various Turanian dialects. Thus we find it in the Koibal rt-Z-erben
(" I take "), the Karagass rt'Z-ermen, the Samoied (Kamassin) ///-im,
etc.; and we further find in Ak. 4a as "the suffix of the adessive,J
and this case is formed by -lla and -/in all Ugro-Finnic languages." §
In a language formed on the Ak. type, but having only one case for
the Gen. and the Possessive, or, again, for the Gen. and the Ades-
sive, which latter has very frequently a Gen. signification, || two or
more case-endings such as na and la or 7ia and lal might, not
unnaturally, combine, and the case would then assume such forms
* Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, 273. As to the connexion between Akkadian
and Sumerian and these languages, vide Hommel's Papers in the Zeitschrift fiir
Keilschriftforschung. "No unprejudiced student of linguistic science can resist
the conviction that Dr. Hommel's comparison of the Sumerian grammar and
vocabulary with the grammar and vocabulary of the Turko-Tatar languages is
founded on a solid basis of fact." (Sayce, Religion of the Ancient Babylonians,
429.)
t Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, 275.
X Called by Lenormant, in his £ttides Accadiennes, the " Comitatif localif."
§ Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, 274.
II " Der Adessiv .... und er dient mehr in dam Sinne eines Genitivs "
(Wiedemann, Grainmatik der Syrjiinischen Sprache, 117).
347 2 F
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
as 7ia, ?ial, al, la, etc. Hence, we obtain a new and external reason
for the fact which, as noticed, appears from internal examination of
the Et. inscriptions, that -/, -la, and le have pretty much the same
meaning as -7ia, and -ni, i.e., because the Et. Gen. combines the
signification of cases which elsewhere are found distinct as Genitive,
Adessive, Comitative, Possessive, etc.
It should also be further remarked, as a possible element in the
case, that an l-?i change is by no means unknown in Turanian lan-
guages. Thus we find the " mongol. em-n-ekll fiir em-l-eku ... So
steht das finnische Wort ome-n-a Apfel wahrscheinlich fiir oin-l-a."*
So far, then, we arrive at the following results ; — -
(i.) Internal investigation shows that -/, -al, -ul, -all, -ale, are
Gen. forms in Etruscan.
(2.) And that they have a similar meaning with -na.\ -ne, -in.
(3.) The general meaning of these endings is the (jcnitival-
Possessive signification "of," "belonging to."
(4.) External investigation shows that -na, etc. (an ;/-sound) is
the common Turanian suffix of the Genitive.
(5.) That in the most ancient Turanian language known, there
existed Adessive and Possessive cases formed with an /-
sound.
* Schott, Ubey das Alta€scJie oder Finnisch-Tatarische SpracJiengeschlecht, 119.
t Na is a common ending in Et. , e.g., Zir-na (sup. p. 323), Hal-tio, Had-na
(a Satyr represented on a mirror between two leopards ; a Bacchic personification,
the controller of the Dionysiac Leopard, the connexion of the name probably
being iidta-Jia = "haunts [of animals]-belonging-to "), and suOi-na, sud-na, sut-
na, = septdcralis, i.e., " belonging-to-«<0?," 'a tomb.' The connexion of this
word is very interesting; Hephaistos is called in Et. SeOlans, i.e., SeQ-l-at7-s =
" Fire-of-god-the." SeQ, set, which appears on the coins of Pupluna (Populonia)
that bear the head of Hephaistos, with a hammer and tongs on the reverse, = the
Samoied su, tju, tui, tu, the Ostiak tn-get, tut, the Tungusic to-go, the Yenissei-
Ostiak hat, the Basque sua, the Lesghic za, zo, zie, and the Ak. iz, izi, all
meaning ' fire.' Cf. the Magyar sut, ' a fire-place,' suto, ' a baker,' sutes, ' roasted,'
the Lapponic sutt, ' febris ardens,' etc. Connected with the Et. sudi, ' tomb,' we
find the Et. words sa6e and sati ; and Prof. Sayce translates £i9 <panu sade-c
(Fab. No. 2279, C=que, a loan-word.), "This is the sepulchre {<pa)iu, whence
'L.2X. fanu-m, " a sacred place ") and place-of-cremation." " We may conclude that
suQi meant originally ' place of cremation,' thence, when interment began to
supersede cremation, it would naturally come to mean a tomb" (Taylor, Et.
Researches, 215). The an\n SeOl-an-s probably = the Et. Ani 1^ kvvioQ is an Et.
king in Plutarch), laiiis, Lat. Janus, the unanthropomorphic divinity of Velathri
(Volaterrae), and is identical with the Ak. An, In (" Divine-one ") Ana (" Sky-
god "), Votiak /;/ (' Sky ') e«-niar (' god '), Taugy iia, Yurak and Yenissei a, etc.
May i]
PROCEEDINGS.
[i8SS.
(6.) And, again, that in Turanian languages an l-n change is by
no means unknown.
The bihngual Ins. Fab. No. 253, affords a good example of the
double affix -nal ; there the Et. Qapir-nal is rendered by the Lat.
Nigri, and translated by Prof Sayce, " son of her that belongs to
Niger," Qapir*-nal ( = an original Qapira-na-la) being a Genitive-
Possessive.
Toveroma. = Tove-roma ; rom occurs in Ins. D. According to
Bugge, the Inscriptions make no reference to the figure of the
Warrior, which in itself is exceedingly improbable ; and this word
supplies a remarkable illustration of the principles of translation here
adopted.
Tove. =' Spear ' The following are some connected forms : —
=:'the thicker end of a tree-trunk.' t
= ' a stump,' 'end.'
= ' a stem,' ' stick.'
= ' a stem-end.'
= ' a stump,' 'end.'
= ' a hill ' (as pointed).
= ' a point.'
= ' point.'
Finnic — •
t-il-v-e
Esthonian—
-
t-il-v-e
Magyar —
t-d-v-d
t-o~v-e-g
Livonian —
t-o-v
Turko-Tatar —
r t-o-b-e
I t-e-p-e
ct e i^
Ostiak —
It-o t\
Vt-ii — i)
Samoied —
r tj-u-r
\ tj-i da
Buriat —
dj-e -da
Yenissei —
Tungusic —
}
dj-i da
Koibal—
tj-e da
Buriat —
( z-e da
1 z-a da
Tungusic — ■
z-i da
Magyar —
d-a-r—da^
V. =' spear.'
* With Qapi}- Canon Taylor aptly compares the Buriatic '' kaj-a, xara, 'black."
Hence are formed the intensitives kap-kara and xap-xara, 'quite black.' The
Etruscan thapira, niger, would thus be an abraded form of kap-kara, xap-xara,
zap-zara, or thap-tkara, k, x, z, and t/i being interchangeable " (EL Researches,
263). Cf. the Lapponic tjappes, ' black.'
t Vide Donner, Vergleichendes IVorterbiuh der Finnisch-Ugrischeii SpracJien,
i, III.
349
2 F 2
May i]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
[iSSS.
Roma. = ' Point.' The following are some connected forms : —
Akkadian —
Ersa-Mordvin —
Magyar —
Tungusic —
North Ostiak—
Magyar —
Samoied —
Akkadian —
= ' sword,' ' point.'
= ' spitzglas,'
= ' summit.'
= ' point'
= ' summit.'
= 'head.'
= ' summit.'
= 'hi<rh.'
The comparative lists are, in all cases, merely illustrative, not
exhaustive: "The Ugric languages as a rule studiously avoid an
initial r." * The spear of Zeronai^, which is a great feature in the
representation, was doubtless — at all events in the opinion of its
owner — like the £7x05 of Achilleus,
Inscription C.
71a • vialasial \ zeronai morbnal \
The-darkness of-Baalath of-Serranus (lord) of-Myrina (is the abode.)
aker : tavarzio \ zivai
Reverence to-Tammuz (lord) of-destiny.
Notes.
Va. Pauli, as noticed, reads va!?ialasial, remarking, " Halte ich
flir bedeutungslos noch die beiden Punkte in Fa-^i'a\a(Tia\" (/ns.
Zem., 8) ; it may be so, but the circumstance does not affect the
foregoing translation. We have here ' Darkness,' personified by the
Phoenicians as the Night-goddess. 'Ek too KoXttui avi^/nov ml ^/vi>aikb<i
avTou lii'iauif (octw? oi>o^ia'C^ovai vvktci <I'o/j'(Ar6v) A.-.T.A..!f This Phoeni-
* Taylor, Et. Researches, 205.
t " Baav oder Baavr, phonizischer Name der Nacht " (.Steuding, in Roscher's
Lexikon der Griechischen mid Roinischen Myihologie, 744), the / being the Semitic
fem. suffix. The Semitic B-V change scarcely requires special remark, and at
times also appears in Aryan languages, e.g., ^aivu) — venio, ^dSw — z'ado, etc.
J Sanchouniathon, i, 3. The Mwr or primitive watery substance (Ibid., , 2)
probal)ly = BwT or Boj0 (zji'de Sayce in Trans, iii, 173, note 3. As to the B-M
change, vide inf. in voc. Malasial).
May i] proceedings. [1888.
cian Baau is the Euphratean Ba-u,* *~:^] ^TTTf^j " Bahu, the queen
of Kis," identical (or identified) with Gula, " the Lady of the house
of death," who is also called Ninkigal, " Queen-of-the-great-region,"
i.e., the Underworld. She is the Bohu of Genesis, "and represented
the waters of the abyss in their original chaotic state,"f ere light and
order, being the Analogue of the Ak. Gurra ("Watery-abyss") of
Eridu.
Malasial. = " 0(-Bavihth." We may first notice that Baalath
(=Gk. Baaltis), the fem. Baal of Gebal-Byblos, is really identical
with the goddess Bau-Baau. Byblos was said to be vpwTqv ttoXw ttjv
€7rl (PoiviKri^ (Sanch. i, 5). Here dwelt 'EXioDv (='Eiitln), "the
Most-high," and his wife BijovOl (=Bau-Bahu), and we are informed
(Sanch. i, 7) that o K/joVo? Bv/BXov /lev r^v voXiv ry Oea BaaXTi'ci . . .
it'dwai. The female Baal of Gebal is Baau-Beou0. " The Darkness
of Baalath " is thus in origin Baalath herself, the Underworld per-
sonified as a dread Queen, a Euphratean idea which reappears in
the West in the prominence of the Homeric Persephoneia.§ The
husband of the Byblian Bau-Baalath is Tammuz (vide h/f. in voc.
Tavnrzio), and "the bride of Tammuz of Eridu was not Istar, but a
goddess of the earth." || The Et. Genitive in -al, -ial, -sial, etc.
(vide stij>. p. 319) has been already referred to (vide suj>. p. 346).
With reference to the B-V change in B-au-Va, and the B-M
change in B-aalath-M-alas, it may be as well to remind the reader of
the laws of Phoenician letter-change in the matter. " 2, plerumque
est ipsum b, et raro induratur in /, ph : saepius emollitur in v . . .
Non raro autem b et m inter se permutantur, etiam in monumentis,
v. M aherw(7/= Mahari^rt'/, Bacchus pro Mochus."! J/ and v, too, at
times interchange, as in Ak. and Et., so that we find e.g., "V-agarmel
* " Bau, the personification of Cliaos " (Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, 120).
" We find in the inscriptions reference to a deity Ba-u, but respecting the character
of this divinity it has not been possible hitherto to give any further information "
(Schrader, Cutt. Ins. and the Old Test., i, 14).
t Sayce, Rel. And. Babylonians, 262.
X Not B//poi)0, which is the ordinary reading, and has been followed by Movers,
and Lenormant, Les On'gines de FHistoire, \, 542 ; vide Bunsen, Egypfs Place,
V, 826.
§ Vide R.B., Jr., The Myth of Kirke, W] et seq.
I! Sayce, Rel. Attct. Babylonians, 264.
IT Gestnins, Script. Ling. Phoen., /^t,2-t,; vide K. B.,Jr., The Great Dionysiak
Myth, ii, 94 et seq. in voc. Bakchos,
May I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [i8S8.
pro M-agarhal." As b is not used in Et., the changes to v and ?;/,
which are in accord with the Phoenician system and do no violence
to the Et., are almost, considering the somewhat mixed nationahty
of the writer, inevitable ; and this circumstance, moreover, explains
why the b is not, in each case, changed to /. Phoenician influence
prevails in the case of these Phoenician Avords.
The last letter-change which requires notice in Malasial, is the
6-s or t-s change. In Et. this is not unfamiliar, e.g., "ve-z-i fiir
ve-t-i ;"* and it also occurs in other Turanian languages, e.g., the
Yakute zV/= the Osmanli issi.^ Baalath (= Maalath) made into an
Et. Genitive naturally becomes AfaalaO-si-al {cf. (pokia-si-ale) = (the
abbreviated) inala-si-al.
A nation so receptive as the Etruscans would naturally accept
Semitic, quite as readily as Greek, divinities, if not into their religion
at least into their art ; and I venture to think that the extent and
effect of direct or almost direct Semitic influence upon Etruria, has
not yet been sufficiently appreciated. The above are no solitary
instances of names of Semitic divinities in Etruscan. Amongst
others we find Fuflunu (vide i'///. p. 321), Semla, Camillas, J Mlakukh,§
a mirror-goddess represented with (the Tyrian) Herakles, and Turan,
of whom I can find no trace in Altaic mythology, and who is not the
Et. Aphrodite, but the great Semitic love-goddess herself.
Zerofiai. = " Of-Serranus." As to the Et. Gen. in a/, vide
Schaefer, in Pauli's Altital. Stud., Pt. ii, p. 29, in voc. farxnai ;
Pauli, Ins. Lem., 34. Good instances occur in Gamurrini {Appendice
al Corp. Ins. Ital.), No. 242: ad ■ creice • anainai, and No. 654:
tarnai, rendered respectively by Gamurrini "Annaeia natus," and
" Tarniae filius." It is to be remembered that the Et. / is at times
* Pauli, Die et.Zahhvdrter, 18 ; vide Deeke, in K. O. Miiller's Die Etriisker,
ii, 432 et. seq. ; Deecke, Et. Fors. und Stud., Pt. ii., p, 46.
t Schott, IJber dai Alt., 132.
X Tuscos Cainillum appellare Mercurium .... prreministrum deorum "
(Macrobius, Sat. iii, 8). "Nomine Casmillae mutata parte Camillam" (Vergil,
Aen. xi, 543). There were Camillae and Camilli at Rome (Servius, ad. Aen. xi,
543> 558 5 Dionysios, ii, 21 ; Festus, in voc. Caniillus), and " Kasmillus, ad-
minister diis magnis " (S. Augustin), was the fourth Kabir of Samothrake, and,
according to Dionysiodoros, was (the analogue of) Hermes. Caniillus or Kadmilos
= Qedem-El, " Qui coram Deo stat."
§ i.e., ' Queen,' the Semitic Melekhcth Qcrcmiah, vii, 18), Astarte, " the
Queen of heaven."
352
May i] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
softened to / (vide Deecke, in Die Etriisker, ii, 388-9 ; Ef. Fors. i/nd
Stud., Pt. ii, p. 93).
Morhiail. = "Of-Murina." Mc/^Va, a town on the west of the
island.
Aker. = ' Reverence.' The widely-spread root a/:, og, has the
meaning of 'high,' 'august,' 'fear,' etc. Cf. Ak. aA% 'lord,' A/;//,
"the Exalted," a name of the Moon-god, a/ca, 'high,' Aka-da, "the
tel" (Sayce), akar 'reverence;' Ostiak og-or, Yenissei-Ostiak t/g-di,
Magyar m-aga-?,, and Turko-Tatar m-akit, ' high.' The root is
specially fruitful in the Turko-Tataric dialects,* where we find eki-s,
oki-s, 'high,' 'august,' uk-sek, 'high,' og-iim, 'heaped-up,' 'gigantic,'
which at once recalls the name of the giantly Amorite King — Og.
The word also appears in the North Ostiak kar-ii, ' high,' and the
Magyar /lir, 'reputation;' and in the N. Ostiak aj-k, 'reputation,'
which Donner connects with the Finnic Aai'-ka, a word meaning
primarily 'smell.' Thus in Germ, gemch ^:^ {1) 'smell,' and (2)
' reputation.'
Tavarzio. ■= "To-Tammuz." The name of the Sumero
Akkadian Sun-god, Dumuzi-apzu ("The-Son-of-the-Spirit-of-the-
Deep." Sayce), is transformed thus : —
Babylonio-xA.ssyrian — D-u- vi -21-z-u
(Abraded form) — D-u z-ii
West Semitic^ T-a-iiu/i-u-z
Et. Lemnos — T-a — v — a-zz
(Modified) — T-a — v — a-rz{-io)
Ionic — T-a-vim-a-s
Greek — 'A- (9 -a — fi — a-s
The Lemnian Inscriptions have even more than the usual Et.
love of a s-sound ; but the original zz is softened to rz {vide sup.
p. 325 in voc. Afaraz). Prof. Sayce quite agrees with my "discovery
that Athamas is Tammuz," | " whose name and worship had been
carried to Gebal by the first Phoenician settlers." %
* Vide A^ambery, Etyniologisches Worterbuch der Tiirko-Tatarischen Sprachen,
7-8.
t Vide The Babylonian and Oriental Record, July, 1SS7, p. 141.
X Sayce, Horodotos, 416.
353
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iS88.
Zivai. =" Of-destiny." This word, which also occurs twice in
Ins. D, is remarkably illustrated by the Finno-Ugric diafects, in which
we find a large group of connected words.* Amongst these are : —
r siv-i-d = ' customary.'
Finnic — < siv-o =' order,' ' regulation,' ' fate,' ' destiny.'
Vsiv-o-n =' to order.'
( sav-e-p =' customary.'
North Ostiak— { . , , ,
\ sov-t = ' custom.
Amongst the Lapps this word appears in the name of the protect-
ing-divinity Saiva or Saiv, " ein allgemeines Gotterepithet und ent-
spricht dem finnischen haltiaJ'' f The Et. word zivas appears in the
Ins. Fab. No. 2335 ; the probable Nom. of zivai and zivas is ziv or
ziva. In exact accordance with the foregoing words is the Ak. tsim
ox ziiii (in^v), 'destiny;' and there is another curious fact in this
connexion, which has been pointed out and illustrated by our
member the Rev. Wm. Houghton, with his usual acuteness and
ability, i.e., that the Ak. ideograph "-yjjf^, zim, 'destiny,' was origin-
ally "the figure of a bird with expanded wings," and was used in
Assyrian to express i/^w^//^, a ' swallow,' or 'swift' " This bird it
would appear the Accadians called the nam-khu, or ' destiny bird,'
' the foretelling bird,' probably because by its visiting and leaving the
country at special seasons ... it ' proclaimed ' or foretold the approach
or the departure of heat and cold." \ Elsewhere, similarly, is the
swallow connected in idea with the order of the world, fate, destiny,
death, etc. ; and so we find the N. Ostiak sir, Zyrianian ser, ' order,'
N. Ostiak sarim, Ostiak sdram, Yenissei-Ostiak xa, ka, Samoied kur-
mo, ' death,' and the Samoied sar, siru\vi, Buriat x^rrt-sagai, Tun-
gusic kara-di\gdS., ' swallow.'
It will be observed that throughout the translation — for the
instance of evisOo is no real exception — the verb is understood. Et.
is chary in the use of the verb, or, as Prof. Sayce puts it far more
strongly, when speaking of Dr. Pauli's researches, " His most impor-
tant discovery is that there was no verb, properly so called, in
Etruscan, no distinction being made between the sufifixes of the verb
and noun." The mortuary inscriptions use the forms lupuce {^=obiii),
evalce {=vixil), and a few more; but in numbers of inscriptions the
* Fide Donner, IVdrtcrbuch, ii, 105,
t Castren, Finvische Myth., 138,
X Transactions, vi, 465 — 6.
354
May i] proceedings. [i8S8.
a/a-n-net, ' valley,' etc. In Tungusic we have the very word ard/i,
verb is understood, e.g., f/irselenia (Gam. No. 529), which Pauli
renders "dies (ist) Selenia."*
III.
Inscription D.
rom. : haralio : zivai :
0-spear ! to Arali (place) of-destiny (thou hast gone ! )
ep [a] : ezio : ami \ tiz
The- wave (was) for-(thy)-house, of-the-sea lord (thou wast I)
(fioke : I zivai : aviz : Sial^viz :
O-Phokaia ! (place) of destiny ! 0-AuIus Sulpicius
viarazm : aviz : aoiitai
and-(our)-young-chief ! 0-Aulus, father-of-the-land !
Notes.
Horn. Lit. 'point' (Vide sup. Ins. B. in voc. toveroffia).
Haralio. = "To-Arali." A Dative (Vide sup. p. 320, Et. Case-
endings). Ar^li, called " the house of the land of death," " in the
language of the primitive inhabitants of Babylonia, was imagined as
a dark subterranean region where the spirits of the dead kept watch
over hoards of gold."t It was thus primarily the Underworld, and
afterwards, in a wider signification, " the world beyond the grave," a
special land in " the north-east, rich in gold, and inhabited by the
gods and blessed spirits.":]: I understand the name to mean ' earth'
or 'ground' + 'under;' and the history of the word is very interest-
ing. Two points in letter-change must first be mentioned, (i) in
Ak. y][ = a, 'a, and ha; and, similarly, in Tungusic we have a-ra,
h-ara, 'ground,' (vide sup., p. 326, in voc. Holaie-z ;) and (2) the l-r
change is frequent in Turanian languages, e.g., the Susianian
Lagama-/ = Lagama-r, Fulu = Uivpo^, in Turko-Tatar the Tchagatai
/(?/, 'way,' = the \Jiguvjor-ik, etc.
A common Turanian word for 'ground' is the Tungusic ara,
Buriatic iror, ojor, Samoiedjr, yl, il, ilo, Hie ; in the West it reappears
in the Magyar alj, ' ground,' the Lapponic ^/-me, ' earth,' the Finnic
* Cf. the Semele Inscription (Fab. 1916 bis), of which I have given a pro-
visional translation in the Academy, Mar. lO, 1888, p. 174 : " The-biirning storm,
and-the-Moon on-the-Ides-(is)-this. Cecinia to-the-Moon-on-the-Ides the-metal-
plate in-the-shrine-of-the-goddess (dedicates)."
t Sayce, Rel. And. Babylonians, 3. % Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, 152.
355
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [iSS8.
with the meaning of ' roundabout,' // being the sign of the Prosecutive
case, which denotes " movement along."
A common Turanian word for 'under' is the Ak. /// (= As. cUu,
'below'), the Turko-Tatar <?/, //, the Ersa-Mordvin al-o, al-on, the
Finnic «/-a, the Magyar al-Vint, al-{\\, etc. The Finnic Alol (= Aral)
are certain Underworld-spirits.* We thus see the basis of the word,
ara + al, = 'ground' + 'under;' but it is capable of further illus-
tration as follows : —
Although the ordinary Turko-Tatar word for ' earth ' \^ jer, er, etc.,
yet "the proper appellations for Earth are (i) uig. [Uigur] kok.
properly dry, just like kara"-\ etc. The Uigur karaX = ' black,
' dark,' ' earth,' Tchagatai kir, ' field,' and this kara = the Tungusic
aspirate form hara ; now, turning to Ak., we find that the Earth is
called TX-kura {=■ " The Spirit of the lower firmament," Sayce), the
earth, the ground, being that-which-is-below (heaven). § Hence the
Ak. ara(-\i) is a variant of /c-7tra, the Earth being that which is below
Heaven, the Underworld that which is below Earth.
The Turko-Tatar dialects illustrate the word very exactly, e.g.,
Uigur a/i, 'under,' Tshuwash <■//, 'under,' ajaldi (= " der untere "),
the Underworld — Ak. Ardli, Et. Haral. With Axi-li, Hara-/, cf.
the Finnic Mana-/« {vide sup. Proceedings, Vol. X, Part 6, p. 326,
in voc. Alav).
Zivai. Vide sup. p. 354. On the Turko-Tataric side this word is
connected with the Tchagatai jasav, 'law,' Tshuwash ycsrtzv, 'order,'
'regulation,' etc.
Ep\a^^ — "The-wave." The Ak. ab, "wave,"|| abzu, 'running
water' (the Abyss), Lapponic c?//^?,^ ' sea,' Magyar hab, 'wave,'
* Castren, Finnische Myth., 128. t Vamliery, Wortcrbuch, 128.
X We have already actually met with a variant of this word kara in Et. itself,
i.e., Qa-pira {=kap-kara), 'black,' 'dark' (z'/rf't^ j-«/. p. 349). Hence, probably,
as Prof. Sayce notes, came the name of the Tiber ; the Et. name Oefri = the Lat.
Tiberius. What I may call the "far cry" argument, has been sometimes used
against the identification of forms used in countries distant from each other, but
there is really nothing in it. Ireland and Spain are a long way from India, but no
philologist doubts that variants of the same Aryan words are used in these
countries.
§ Cf. Ak. kar, 'lower.'
II " AB, ' ondulation, vague.' Composes : ab-si, ab-zu, a-abba " (Lenormant,
Etude sur quelqties parties des Syllabaires Cuttciformes, 278).
•'' Ahlqvist (Die Kulturiudrter der Westfmmschen Sprachen, 161) doubts
whether this word is not derived from the " Skand. hav." The above comparisons
show that it is unnecessary to go outside the Turanian family for a derivation.
May i] proceedings. [iSSS.
Ak. ap, abba, 'sea,' Samoied bu., bi\ 'water,' k-aba, hamba, kombii,
komb, ' wave.' Cf. Ak. eba, ' flood.'
With the Ak. a, ' water,' Lenormant compares the Zyrianian ju,
Vogul ja, je, ' water-course,' and the Magyar jd, " only preserved in
certain names of places ; " and there is, in the Turko-Tataric dialects,
an interesting group of words under the root sub, suv, su, which
appear to be not unconnected with the archaic Sumero-Akkadian
name-word *^^]] ^I^f Zu-ab, called by the Assyrians Ab-zu* the
'ATTaffu-'f of Damaskios. Thus we find the Uigur sub, the Tchagatai
suj, sju, suu, su, the Koibal-Karagass sug, suk, su, the Tshuwash siva,
siv, su, and the Yakute u, all meaning 'water.' The Buriatic o-so,
' water,' perhaps = a{b)zu.
Ezio. = " For-a-house." A Dat. Cf. the Ak. es, us, IMagj-ar
Adz, Tungusic zu, ' house,' Buriatic n-uzi, ' homelike,' Magyar
/laza, ' home,' Koibal //aze-rsup, ' homelike,' etc. Donnerf groups
the Finno-Ugric ' house '-words thus, — Finnic kof-a, Vepse kod-i,
Esthonian kod-a, Livonian kod-a., Lapponic goatt-t, Votiac kva, Ersa
Mordvin and Zyrianian kud-o, Magyar haz (thus showing the con-
nexion with such forms as the Ak. es), Ostiak x.^'t, xot, kat, Yenissei
Ostiak x^^^-> Ai'os. As in Ak., ti may often = hu ( Vide Sayce, As.
Gratn., 20, 46), we have in these two last forms a very near approxi-
mation to the Ak. es, us.
In the Turko-Tataric group the ' house '-words appear in the
variant forms with j, b, v, etc., e.g., Osmanli ev, Tchagatai ova, oba,
'house,' Yakute uja, 'nest.' In this group the .r-sound at times
interchanges with b, t, and d.X
Aral. ="Of-the-sea." Lit. " Of-the-water." Cf. l\v^ ^. ar-ia,
'river,'§ the Yenissei ur, til, ulf, 'water,' the Basque ura, 'water,'
the Tchagatai /,;/, ol, ' sea,' ' great water,' the Osmanli gol, ' sea,' and
the Koibal-Karagass hoi, kol, kul, ' sea.' The l-r change requires no
further notice. In the Finno-Ugric dialects the word appears thus; —
Y'mnic j-arvi, 'lake,' Vepse and Esthonian yrt:rz', lAwonizxi jara, fora,
' sea,' ' lake,' North Lapponic favrre, Tcheremiss fer, Moksha Mord-
* I have elsewhere {Pabylonia)t and Oriental Record, July, 1887, p. 140)
suggested that zuab-apzu is the origin of the Greek magical word 2d>//, said to
mean " the sea " {vide Clemens Alex., Strotnata, v. 8).
t Worterbuch, i, 12. + Vide Vamberj', Wbrterbuch, 24.
§ The "river-god (Aria) appears in the hsts of gods of the second rank"
(Lenormant, Chaldean JSIagic, 183).
357
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1888.
vin Jarhka, arhka, Ersa Mordvin arke, ' sea,' Magyar ar, ' flood,'
ar-viz, 'inundation,' Samoied/Vz/r^, *sea,' etc.*
T/z. = ' Lord.' This interesting word reappears in the Ak. di's,
fis, 'king,' 'one,'t and is connected with a number of words in the
variant dialects meaning ' order,' ' row,' etc. C/. the Turko-Tatar
Uiz-tik, 'rule,' 'order,' the Ostiak tes-tem, 'to order,' Finnic tes-ma,
' order,' etc. It also exactly reappears in the Magyar fisz/, defined
as " ein Beamter, eine Magistratsperson," i.e., the first in the row,
the ' head ' man.
Marazm. = ??iaraz-m = ' young-chief ' + ' and.' The force of
the passage is, "Our young Chief, too" (vide sup., p. 325, in voc.
Maraz). According to Deecke, the Et. -m, -em, -urn, = 'and' (vide
£t Fors. 7ind Sti/d., Pt. ii, p. 93), and Pauli, too, agrees that "the
on-hanging -;;/" = 'and' {Ibid., Pt. iii, pp. 3, 155), both being further
of opinion that the ' on-hanging ' -c, which often appears in Et., is
the Lat. que, and, according to Pauli, a loan-word. With the Et.
-m, 'and,' we may compare the Ak. conjunction k-atn-a (vide I^enor-
mant, Etudes Accadiennes, Pt. i, p. 173), the Lapponic k-en, a con-
junction-enclitic and copulative, the Magyar me-g, ' and,' the Tungusic
via-l, %va-l, 'and also,' the Ostiak tne-t, 'with it,' etc.
Aofuai. = " Father-of-the-land " (vide suj>., p. 326, in voc. Afav.
Ins. A.). Mai, a Gen., like Zivai, Arai, etc. Ao (Ae) ' father ' =
the Ak. ai, a (" Abrege du plus habituel et plus complet ai," Lenor-
mant), Wotiak and Zyrianian ai, 'father,' Finnic di, 'grand-father,'
and 'step-father,' Woguljei, 'father,' etc. The word generally takes
an affix, and then appears as the Ak. af, ad, ad-da, the Finnic i-sd,
Esthonian i-s-sa, Lapponic ai-fje, Tcheremiss dt-jd, Ostiak a-ia,
ALagyar af-ja, Osmanli a-ta, etc. (Vide Lenormant, Chaldeafi Magic,
300 ; Ahlqvist, Kulturworter der Westfintiischen Sprachen, 208-9).
Other variants are the Finnic di-jd, and Lapponic ai-ja.
Such, then, are some instances of the connexion between the
language of these remarkable Inscriptions — undoubtedly Etruscan —
and the dialects of the widely-spread Turanian Family ; and, taking
the evidence as a whole, we may ask whether a much closer resem-
blance could be shown between the different dialects of the Aryan
Family ?
* Vide Donner, Worterbuch, i, 104.
t Vide R. B., Jr., Ugro-Altaic Numerals : One- Five, in the Proceedings, Feb.,
1888, p. 207.
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [iS8S.
INSCRIPTIONS OF NEBUCHADREZZAR.
VI. The Cylinder marked 68-7-9. i.
(See 5 R., r/ah- 34.)
By Rev. C. J. Ball.
This cylinder, or rather truncated cone, has seen so much hard
usage, that it has become more difificult to read than any other
which I have had occasion to examine. I have, notwithstanding,
refrained from disfiguring my transcript with innumerable paren-
theses indicating the broken state of the document. In Col. I, 7,
the scribe seems to have omitted | (anaj, the only clerical error
that I have noticed in this carefully written text.
The present transcript is probably as faithful a copy of the original
as can now be made ; a result largely due to the kind assistance of
Mr. T. G. Pinches. I have also to thank Dr. Bezold for helping me
in my first reading of the cylinder some time ago. A scholarly
paper on some of the inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar by Dr. Hugo
Winckler (Z.A., April, 1887) has proved useful for purposes of
comparison.
Mr. E. A. Budge published this inscription so far as col. Ill,
5 a, in the Transactions of the Victoria Institute (1884). The rest
of his text is taken from the broken cylinder R"'673, which ends
quite differently.
Column I.
Transcription.
D. na-bi-um-ku-dur-ri-u-^u-ur sar ba-bi-lam ki
ru-ba-a-am na-a-dam mi-gi-er d. marduk
is-sa-ak-ku gi-i-ri na-ra-am D. na-bi-um
sa-ak-ka-na-ku la-a ne-ha
5 za-ni-in e-sag-illa u e-zi-da
sa a-na d. na-bi-um u d. marduk en-mes-su
ki-it-nu-su-ma ib-bu-su ana ri-e-su-su-un
359
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [iSS8.
na-a-dam mu-us-te-mi-qu i-tu-ti ku-un libbi dlmmer-gal-gal
ablu a-sa-ri-du sa D. nabium-abil-u-gu-ur
lo sar ba-bi-lam /'/ a-na-ku
i-nu-um v. marduk en ra-bi-u ki-ni-is lu-ba-an-ni-ma
ma-da su-te-su-ru ni-sim ri-e-a-am
za-na-an ma-ha-zi ud-du-su es-ri-e-tim
ra-bi-is u-ma-'-ir-an-ni
15 a-na-ku a-na D. marduk EN-ia pa-al-hi-is u-ta-qu
ba-bi-lam ki ma-ha-za-su ^i-i-ri eri ki ta-na-da-a-tu-su
im-gu-ur-belu ni-mi-it-ti-belu
BADA-BADA-SU-GAL-GAL U-sa-ak-U-il
i-na si-ip-pi ka-gal ka-gal-su
20 AMA AMA URUDU c-iq-du-u-tim
u 91R-RUS eiR-RUs se-zu-zu-u-tim
u-us-zi-iz
sa sarru ma-ah-ri-im la i-pu-su
ka-a-ri hi-ri-ti-Su
25 i-na EsiR-E-A u seb-al-ur-ra
a-ti si-ni-su a-ba-am a-li-tu eri ki u-sa-al-am
ia-ti ka-a-ri danna-a-ti se-la-si-su
is-ti-en-i-ti sa-ni-i
i-na esir-k-a u seb-al-ur-ra ab-ni-ma
30 it-ti ka-a-ri a-ba-am ik-zu-ru e-si-ni-ik-ma
i-si-su i-na i-ra-at ki-gal u-sa-ar-si-id-ma
ri-(e)-si-su sa-da-ni-is u-za-ak-ki-er
ka-a-ri seb-al-ur-ra bal-ri d. utu-su-a
BADA ba-bi-lam u-sa-al-am
35 ka-a-ri a-ra-ah-tim
i-na EsiR-E-A u seb-al-ur-ra
a-ba-am a-li-tu ik-zu-ur-ma
ma-ka-a-at seb-al-ur-ra
a-ba-ar-ti id ud-kip-nun-ki u-ra-ak-ki-is-ma
40 la u-sa-ak-li-il si-it-ta-a-tim
ia-ti a-bi-il-su ri-e-es-ta-a-am
na-ra-am li-ib-bi-su
ka-a-ri a-ra-ah-tim
i-na EsiR-E-A u seb-al-ur-ra ab-ni-ma
45 it-ti ka-a-ri a-ba-am ik-zu-ur-ru u-da-an-ni-in
i-na e-sag-illa ki-iz-zi ra-as-ba-am
e-kal sa-mi-e u ir-zi-tim su-ba-at ta-si-la-a-tim
360
May i] proceedings. [iSSS.
e-ku-a pa-pa-ha bel ilani d. Marduk
KA Hi-Li-su su-ba-at d. zir-pa-ni-tum
50 E-zi-DA su-ba-at d. lugal lugal-dim-me-ir-ana-ki-a
GusKiN na-am-ru u-sa-al-bi-is-ma
I u-na-am-mi-er ki-raa u-um
E-TEM en-ana- K I zi-ku-ra-at ba-bi-lam ki
e-es-se-is e-pu-us
55 E-zi-DA bit ki-i-nim na-ra-am D. na-bi-um
i-na ba-ar-zi-pa ki e-e§-se-is ab-ni-ma
Translatmt.
IVebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon,
The prince exalted, the subject of Merodach,
The pontiff supreme, beloved of Nebo,
The warder (?) iimvcaricd,
5 The furnisher of Esagilla and Ezida,
Who unto Nebo and Merodach, his lords.
Submitted himself and {whoni) they summoned to their sennce ;
The exalted, the prayerful, the called of the trueheartedness of the
great gods ;
The foremost S071 of Nabopalassar
I o King of Babylon, atn I.
When Merodach, great lord, had faithfully created me, and
The land to order aright, the people to shepherd,
To embellish the city, to re7iew the temples.
Mightily had charged nie ;
15 I to Merodach, my lord, icas reverently obedient ;
Babylon, his high city, the town of the land, the glories of it,
Imgurbel, Nimittibcl,
The great ramparts of if, I co/nplcted.
On the thresholds of the gates thei'eof
20 Massy bulls of bronze
And serpents huge, erect,
I set up.
What no former king had done,
The embankmetits of its moat
25 With bitumen and kiln brick
{Along with the two of them which the father that begot me threw
aroimd the capital ; )
/ the strong embankmcJits, the third thereof,
361
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iS88.
The firsts the secotid,
With bitumen and kiln-brick did build, and
30 With the embaiikments that the father had constructed, I connected
them ; and
The foundation thereof i)i the bosom of a great mound I firmly laid,
and
The top thereof like the mountains I reared on high.
Embankments of kiln-brick at the ford of the sunset
The rampart of Babylon I carried round.
35 The embankments of the A raxes
JVith bitumen and kiln-brick
The father that begot me had co?istructed, and
The fetice of kiln-brick
Of the further side of the Euphrates lie had built, and
40 Had not completed the rest :
I, his chiefest son,
The beloved of his heart,
The embankments of the A raxes
With bitn/nen and kiln-brick did build, and
45 With the ejnbankments the Jather had constructed, did strengthen.
In Esagilla, the strong sanctuary.
The palace of heaven and earth, the seat of pleasures,
Ekua, the closet of the lord of the gods, Aferodach,
The gate Chilisu, the seat of Zirpanit,
50 Ezida, the seat of the King, the king of the gods of heaven and earth,
With shiimig gold I overlaid, a7id
Made to shine like day.
Etemenanaki, the tower of Babylon,
Aneiv I made.
55 Ezida, eternal hoiise, beloved of Ncbo,
In Borsippa anetv I built, and
Column IL
Transcriptiofi.
i-na GUsKiN u ni-si-ik-tim na-na
ki-ma Si-ti-er-ti sa-ma-mi u-ba-an-nim
e-ri-nim UA-LUM-tim guskin u-sa-al-bi-is-ma
a-na ^:u-lu-ul e ma6-ti-la pa-pa-ha d. na-bi-um
362
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [i{
5 pa-nim se-lal-ti-su-nu u-sa-at-ri-ig
E-MAG E DIMMER-NIN-HAR-SAG E lib-ba KA-DIMMER-RA-KI
E Gis-sA-PA-KALA-MA-si-MA E D. na-bi-um sa-ha-D-e
E-NAM-&E E D. lammani lib-ba ku-ma-ri-ki
E-KI-KU-GARZA E DIMMER-NIN-E-AN-NA Sa tU-ub-ga-at BADA
lo i-na ba-bi-lam ki e-es-se-is ab-ni-ma
u-ul-la-a-am ri-e-sa-si-in
sa ma-na-ma sarru ma-ah-ri la i-pu-su
IV, M ammat ga-ga-ra-am i-ta-a-at eri ki
ni-si-is la da-hi-e
15 BADA DA-LUM BAL-RI D, UTU-E ba-bi-laill ki
u-sa-as-hi-ir
hi-ri-su ah-ri-e-ma su-bu-ul mi-e ak-su-ud
ki-bi-ir-su i-na esir-e-a u seb-al-ur-ra ab-ni-ma
it-ti ka-a-ri a-ba-am ik-zu-ur-ru e-si-ni-ik-ma
20 BADA da-(lum) i-na esir-e-a u seb-al-ur-ra
i-na ki-sa-di-sa sa-da-ni-is ab-nim
ta-a-bi-su-bu-ur-su dur ba-ar-zi-pa ki
e-es-se-is e-pu-us
ka-a-ri hi-ri-ti-su i-na esir-e-a u seb-al-ur-ra
25 ERI KI a-na ki-da-nim u-sa-as-hi-ir
a-na dimmer-du-e en mu-sa-ab-bi-ir iz-ku sa na-ki-ri-ia
bit-su i-na ba-ar-zi-pa ki e-es-se-is e-pu-us
e-bar-ra e d. utu sa ud-kip-nun-ki
e-ku-gi-na e d. lugal gis-a-tu-gab-lis
30 sa eri ba-az
E I-BIL-D. A-NUM E D. IB
SA DIL-BAD-KI
E-AN-NA E D. IS-TAR SA UNU-KI
e-bar-ra e d. utu sa ut-unu-ki
35 E-KIS-NU-GAL E D. EN-ZU sa SIS-UNU-KI
e-es-ri-e-ti dimmer-gal-gal
e-es-se-is e-pu-us-ma
u-sa-ak-li-il si-bi-ir-si-in
zi-in-na-a-at e-sag-illa e-zi-da
40 te-di-is-ti ba-bi-lam ki ba-ar-zi-pa ki
sa e-li sa ma-ah-ri-im
u-sa-ti-qu-ma
as-ku-num a-na ri-e-es-e-tim
ka-la e-ip-se-e-ti-ia su-qu-ra-a-tim
363 2 G
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [iSSS.
45 za-na-an e-es-ri-e-ti dimmer-gal-gal
sa e-li LUGAL-LUGAL ab-bi-c-a u-sa-li-ru
i-na NA na-ra-a as-tu-ur-ma
u-ki-in ah-ra-ta-as
ka-la e-ip-se-e-ti-ia
50 sa i-na na na-ra-a as-tu-ru
mu-da-a-am li-ta-am-ma-ar-ma
ta-ni-it-ti ilani
li-ih-ta-as-sa-as
e-bi-su ma-ha-zi dimmer dimmer u d. is-tar
55 sa EN ra-bi-u d. marduk
Translation.
With gold and precious stones,
Like the host of heaven, I made sparkle.
Stout cedars with gold I overlaid, and
For the roofing of Emaghtilla, the closet of Neb 0,
5 The face of three of them I laid on.
The Great House, the house of the Lady of the Mountain, the house
within Babylon,
The LLouse of the Giver of the Sceptre of the JForld, the house of
Nebo the Messenger (?)
The LLouse of Plenty, the house of Rimmon within Babylon,
The LLouse of the Place of the Judgment-Seat, the house of the
Dame of the Celestial Abode, which is in the purlieus of the
wall,
10 /;/ Babylon anew L built, and
Raised their tops.
What 710 former king had done,
For 4,000 cubits of ground, on the flanks of the capital
From afar unapproachable,
iK A mighty rampire at the ford of the sunrising
L threw arouiid Babylon.
Lts moat L dug, and the bottom of the tvater L reached ;
The bank of it ivith bitumen a7id kiln-brick L built, and
With the embankment the father had constructed, L joined it, and
20 A mighty rampire with bitumeti a7id kiln-brick
On the marge of it mountainLiigh L built.
Tabisuburshu, the wall of Borsippa,
Anew L iiuxde ;
364
May i] proceedings. [1888.
The embankments of its moat in bitumen and kiln-brick
25 The capital, for cover, I carried round.
For the divine Son of the House, the lord that shattereth tlie sword
of my foes,
His house in Borsippa anew I made.
Ebarra, the house of Shamash of Sepharvaitn,
Ekngina, the house of the King of Palm-branches (.?),
30 Of the city of Baz ;
E-ibil-Anu, the house of Amt,
Of Nipur ;
Eanna, the house of Ishtar of Erech,
Ebarra the house of Shamash of Ellasar,
35 Egissirgal, the house of Sin of Ur,
The temples of the mighty gods,
Afiew I made, and
Finished the zmrk of them.
The embellishme7it of Esagilla and Ezida,
40 The reriovation of Babylon and Borsippa,
Which above what was before
I beautified, and
made into principal {cities) ;
All my costly works,
45 The restoring of the temples of the mighty gods.
Which above the kings my fathers I added.
On tablets I wrote, and
Laid up for hereafter.
All my works
50 Which on the tablets I wrote.
May the learned behold, and
The glory of the gods
May he consider !
The making of the tow7i of the gods, and of Ishtar,
55 Wherewith the great lord Merodach
Column III.
Transcription.
ia-ti u-ma-ra-an-ni-ma
u-sa-at-ka-an-ni li-ib-ba-am
pa-al-hi-is la a-ba-at-ti-il-su
u-sa-al-la-am si-bi-ir-su
365 2 G 2
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
5 i-nu-mi-su a-na d. nin-kar-ra-ak-a
be-el-ti ra-'-im-ti-ia
na-gi-ra-at na-bi-is-ti-ia
mu-sa-al-li-ma-at bi-er-'i-ia
E-HAR-SAG-EL-LA bit-sa sa ki-ri-ib ba-bi-lam ki
10 sa is-tu pa-nim in-na-mu-ma
la i-pu-su sarru ma-ah-ri-im
te-me-en-su la-bi-ri a-hi-it ab-ri-e-ma
III sEB-Hi-A za-hi-er-tim i ammat iii su-s(i)
mi-in-da-a-tim se-lal-ti-si-na ni-bil us-se (?)
15 af>-pa-li-is-ma ak-su-ud ap-te-ih-ma
E a-na a-sa-ba d. nin-kar-ra-ak-a be-el-ti-ia
la u-us-su-um si-ki-in-sa
i-ga-ar E su-a-ti a-na du-un-nu-nim
e-bi-su EsiR-E-A u seb-al-ur-(ra)
20 e sa a-na a-sa-ba d. nin-kar-ra-ak-(a be-el-ti-ia?)
u-us-su-um as-te-'u(-u ?)
i al a-ar-ka-tim . . .
as (?)-bu (?)-ut (?) Ill seb-al-ur(-ra)
sa XVI su-si ta-a-an mi-in-da-a-(tim)
25 mi-si-il seb-al-ur(-ra)
tu-ba-lu (u ?)
e-bi-su esir-e-a u seb-al-(ur-ra)
D, UTU U d(iM ?)
an-na ki-i-nim
30 u-sa-as-ki-num i-na te-er-ti-ia
III seb-al-ur-(ra)
sa XVI su-si ta-a-an
u mi-si-il seb-al-ur(-ra)
tu-ba-lu u
35 e-li te-me-en-ni-su u-ki-in-ma
E i-na ESIR-E-A u seb-al-ur-ra
sa-da-ni-is e-er-ti
D. NIN-KAR-RA-AK-A bc-cl-ti ^i-ir-tim
a-na e-har-sag-el-la e hi-da-ti-ki
40 ha-di-is i-na e-ri-bi-ki
da-am-ga-tu-u-a
li-is-sa-ak-na sa-ap-tu-uk-ki
u-ri-ki u-um-u-a su-mi-di sa-na-tu-u-a
ba-la-tam a-ar-ka se-bi-e li-it-tu-ti-ia
366
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
45 li-is-sa-ki-in i-na pi-ki
su-ul-li-im na-bi-is-ti ti-ib-bi uzu-uzu-ia
u-^u-ur se-e-ri-ia ki-in-ni bi-ir-'i(-ia)
lu-u su-um-gu-tu na-ki-ri-i(a)
u sa-pa-nim ma-da a-a-bi-ia
50 i-na ma-ha-ar d. marduk sar sa-mi-e u ir-zi-tim
ki-bi-i
sa-at-ta-ak-ka.
Translation.
Me did charge, and
Impelled me luithin {thereto),
Reveretitly I ceased it not ;
I completed the ivork of it.
5 At that time for Ninkarrak i^.Q.., Gtila)
The lady that loveth me,
That keepeth my soul.
That maketh ivhole my offspring,
Eharsagella, her house, which is within Babylon,
10 Which long ago had fallen ifito decay, and
Pio former king had repaired ;
lis old record I saw, inspected, and
Three brick cylinders {?), each small, i ell t, fingers
In dimensions the three of them,
15 I saw and took Jip ; I shut them in {again').
The house for the indivelling of Ninkarrak, my lady.
The structure of it was not seemly.
To strengthen the side of that house,
By preparing bitumen and kiln-brick,
20 The house which for the indwelling of Ninkarrak, my lady.
To make seemly I sought,
hereafter
/ set three kiln-bricks
Of sixteen fingers in dimensions,
25 {And) half a kibi-brick.
In line.
To prepare bitumen and kiln-brick
Shamash atid Rimmofi
Abiding grace
30 Implanted in my mi?id.
367
May 1] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [iS88.
Three kiln-bricks
Of sixteen fingers
And half a kiln-brick
In line,
35 Over its record I laid, and
The house taith bitumen and kiln-brick
Mountain-like I reared.
Ninkarrak, lady supreme !
Into Eharsagella, the house of thy joys y
40 When thoti joyfully enterest,
May good things for fne
Come to pass at thy bidding f
Prolong thou my days, establish my years ;
Long life, the abiuidance of my children,
4$ Be it fulfilled by thy mouth I
Make whole my lift, make sound my limbs.
Keep my body, co?ifirm my offspring/
The felling of my foes.
And the conquest of the country of my enetnies,
50 Before Merodach, the king of heaven and earth,
Commatid thou
Perpetually I
[The notes on the above text will appear in a future
number of the Proceedings?^
r€ffr^
.368
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., May, iSSS.
PLATE I.
AN UNPUBLISHED
INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADREZZAR II.
Rev. C. J. Ball.
Column I.
- i^ H T? '^y^ -^i y? t^'^y1 <^^ ^a ^^^ -y <::-!
3. :t ^y -^y ^lyy ^ -yy<y -^y -^U -y^ -y --^y :: '^n
4- ^af ^ ^ <><y w t^ 'Hy^y ^ <ji 4tr-y<y ly <5^y-^ -4^
5. iiy^ -y 4 <y>-H -+ a^
6. ^? .^^ ^T :Ey4y -v ^? .^y
7. iy4y?--^i:^j>^^i^--i>^"y-^uiy4:ff^^>^3yiy4!?«H-^y^i
«• >^ ^ •:?;? ^^y <y- a^ -t <
9. >^ j^y x^y ^^ <y-£f -7- ^ -bU Vy xH -] Vr ^y ^] <y-H -y j^n ^
^ I • iiiy !? -^! --y d-^y -n -^u ^^y <y-"Hy ^>^yii ^^^y -y -y ^ tn ^-
[^tn^-4<^y
, 2. <y^a ^^y ^y - -n ^yy ^y^y -uy ^ -yy ^lyy e^ -yy<y
13. >^- iy4 -yy<y ^y 4 ^n h -ly ^ .ly
M. j^ "Ey^y -^ ^y "^y idy ^- ly -yy<y "?? ly ^yy ^??
15. -*^>x-^y-iy!;^^yri<;?j^^>^yj4:y^y:^M<y-'Ey:^y4f^^H^y
x6. ^ 'Ey<y -y ?? -^y y? -^>
17. H :^ J^^l ^ ^<f '"^'r ^'r ly- ly- Vr ^] ^] ^l^'i ^^ilM^
18. ^] y; tMy<y ^ ^y ^^y <tt t^^ e^ ^y kk m -Vi ^ -y ly- ly-
1 9- .1:^ If- itt :^i <yHi<y :iMy<i ^^ ^] -i^y^ ^ 4?^ :?^^ <i-yy<y ^y i^ -^>
20. jL,. -y-y ^iy<y ^ ^^y ;^ B ^y >^^ ^-Ey<i T^ A kw ^'r <« -yT<y?; -^>
2^- >^ 1^ t> >^ff: ^ly -^y ^|E^ Hy
^^^- ^r^y J4:y^y :«? ly^ -y ^y^r^ %t^^ ^ tM ^.^yi ^^^ 4 ^:f:?
[ny y? -^y ^^y
Proc. So(. Bibl. Arch., May, l8SS.
PLATE 11.
An Unpublished Inscription of Nebuchadrezzar II.
Column I — continued.
^r H<r ^i ^r ^i ^ >i^ j^iki -th ^, y^ '^ia
I? -^i -11^ "^r a^ 4f ^ 4 i^r .^t ^]^ <« -m ^^ -i>
tu ^ ^]f ^ ^^?- 4- >?^ --r .^^
r? -^r B r? -^r -y <::-^y -n t^y? j^ ^::^y a j^yy m ^i^i t^^
^ --y :^y :^y^y ^im^ m "^T -yy^ -ill - ^-
^^y th rii <^^ "^^ <-H 4^ 4f ^ -^> ^ly "Ey <><y tn ^ -^>
^y HI y? ^ ^ Lt< -I -^ ^T^T -I -r -y <::-!
^^? ^ ^t]^ ^ my 'ii H ^ly -y m^ ^^^u
^T ^^ ^y<y iiy^ ^r^y ^i^y ^imi ^ ^ ij< -y >^y :^ -^n
s. 'fl^^ --^r -y^ ^u * ^14 ^w ^ ^rr i^yy
^ -^y "^y^ <^^ 4ff- ^ "^T 4 '^n
^y x^y -y ^ -yy^^ m -^u ^ii h ^ ^'^yy $=r
^} <« <r- j^yy t, la ^y
^y ^^ 3y<y ^y ^ e^ <><y -^y ^ii '^y^ -y -^y :^ ^n
B -^] H <y-yy<y ^^ <hm ^} <« <i- ^ir ^^y >^:- ^^y
B-^Vii^^ <y-H ^^y 'm jl.< -i> >^] >^i
m "^y <y- ^^y ay k>k ti^ 'ny <tt ^ ^y ^^y <><r
*^ijtm '^uirmy "^yKy ^^:: -^> }t]U ^ 'eI^ -l^y ::: j^yy "ny
y? -^y ^yy "ei <5^y-^ ^y -:iii kk -ly ^ j^ g,< -r -r^r^
^ <><y ^ y- kk .ly 'T^ ^ ly^ ^ir -yy<y '^y
^ffi -nil ^y -r tr-:^ -nii ^ :Ey ^^ --y -^n ^
^y 'py V 5^ >^r, '^y <<<<<][ -^y ^y ^ -^y :^ ^H ^y4^ ii< -yy<y ^yy<y
r^y ^^ V- .:^.-* ^I -y -:i ^yy
^y m ^"i-i t^u -IT ^T -y iMgf ^yy][ ^u -y^y^ y?
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., May, 1 888.
PLATE III.
An Unpublished Inscription of Nebuchadrezzar II.
48. ^y
49
Column I — continued.
t -^ j^^r -r A^ ^ H 'iht '^r -th ^
5°-
51-
52-
53-
54-
55-
56.
57-
58.
59-
60.
61.
62.
63-
64.
65-
:^r j^ -Til 5^ H :^r -T tMU ^! H ^T -SIT ^ Sw^ ^11 -BI^I
E^ -^r 31 :^ ^-ir ^ ^? <« <i- ^\} ^^y ^ "^i
-r ^r- -IT- r]f <r- idi ^Pr -ii<r hi ;^ <i- -^i
^ ^i4 <Mi<r "^y y;? ^ -yy<y hi <y- 1>
H :^ ^^y ^ "^y g< -yy^ -ii -m ^ ^-^ -y <:::^^y
*^yy :fF^y -^y HI y; -siy ^y
^jff tr-^ ^»^yy -y -\ :^y <y-i£y j^ <^^ h4i kk --y -\ :^y
"^y^y^y -y^y^y ^y ^y- ^y- m ^y^ ^y^i^ -s^y^ j^^li
-y
>w-<
^?^y>
ly-^y
[■t H! HI -^>
try 4^ ^] ^y ^-^ '^y ^y
%]i^ tn ^] ^ -yy<y a^ -ly e^ h ^y
3y^y <y-Ty<y 4 -yf<y k>k ^i ^^]^]^ -yy<y <y-'i£y n tr-^ ^^yy -Ti<y
y; ^K <y- .^^ .ly Vi H -y^ y^ ^^y^ -siy-^yy m ^y4 -w -y^
E^y^ KK ny^y <y--yy<y ^y^y ^^^ y;? kk ^ -ly <y- ^y
>-<
yy^y
KK
Column II.
^E -^y y^ isf ^ j^y y? <y-'Hy ^:^^^ -i^y:;;^^! ^u ^^y .^^ '^y
ny^y kk 3y^y <y-yy<y y? h '^y^ x.^ ^yy ^ ^] 'm m jl.^ "^y
^ <!- ^yy ^ -^y E^ *iu -iy ^^ ly^ <- * m <mh <f ^i^y ^y
-yy<y ^'^ <h %] %]^ ^v^ 4^ j^yy ^ ?^ -y^y^ $r 4^
Hy^y <y-yy<y i-^i -ii<y ^^i^y ^u -<y-^ -yy<y -y ^ i y;
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arr/i., 3 fay, iSSS.
PLATE IV.
An Unpublished iNSCRimoN of Nebuchadrezzar II.
Column II — continued.
^ri ^ir ^, %v -r j^ii ^ t^ kk ^:? ir- -t * -iu -
^ ^n -y-y- ;^ '^y ^y
-IT ^ H4 -t^t^ -^^T^ J^^M^^^^I :^^T ^11 ^r T? -^>
^ ^y yr Hzy 4 Jri<y y^ <y^^y \x.^x -:^r ^^i^T "eU ^^T .^f::- ^\
y^ -^r '^i ^^^ w <T-iH K-K :ffi ^y^y ^^i^y <y-*Ey h ^ t-w m
-r -^y - m v^ j^-yy<y44f^-yy<yim y?s4^?>yyyT^
ri< -w 4f ^ ^j j^-y -<> t^ ^y 'f? B
^ -^y y^ B^y 4 j^y y? <y-iiy ^^5^:^ -:^y :;^i^y -^n « ^ ^ ^w
^ <y^ lyy --y .^i^ y^ ^ |y4 <y-yy<y ^- A^ ^\
-m ^\ <V iy4 ^- W -^T^y ^ .^^ ^y<y ^^yy .^^ ..^ ^yy
^y4 ^y -^y "By tn ^^y mi -yy<y -^y ^ a ^y
V <y- ^ 5^ ;^^ -yy<y ^ ^.x\ \\ ^ly -^yi
j^ '-t^.^w -ly m 4 J^?
'^y^y^y '^y<y v^ -<y-^ -yy<y -\ 4 4 j^y
:Hy :^ ^-yy ^ ^ ly^ - 4 ^
4 -yy<y ^yy "m -yy<y ^^^ ^^y %\ Q <^y-^ t- •?? -^y^y iy ^
^ :^ 4?^ ^y E^ -^y -li! ^ -yy<y Ky-H yif tr-^ ^.^yy -yy<y ^^y >4^ ^y
^y^y ^K 3y^y <y-yy<y y? ^y -y^ jl.< ny ^ •:f j ^"^^ ^^^ jl.. ^y
Pioc. Sor. Bil'l. Arch., May, l8SS.
PLATE V.
An Unpublished Inscription of Nebuchadrezzar II.
Column II — continued.
^, <« <r- ^rr -^^if a ^r
»^rr r;; -^t ^ :Hr<r <><r ^^ ^r4 - ^ 4^
-^^ ^rr ^ -^r la ^^ ^ •:f? <« <^ ^yy •:f; gy >^y
yt ^y _y ^,. ^ly ^y ^_ ^r ^^r^ -y ^|y ^^y^y
x^\ <tt ^ly -|y v^y - -^yy k-k ^y]; T? <y- ^y ^|y .t^t kk ^y
^r KK -Ef J4^y>^^ E^ -^r 4- 4f^ ^^ ^K«<F^!!':f];Q^y
y]? -^r -y tr--^ -ly ^ :Hy y]^ kk ^irr 4^ kk
^ ^r^ <My<y :Hy k-k JFf^ ^ 4^^- #n ;<a k-k E^y^
Iy <r- H ^ly ^y t^-- .|y
:?^y t^^^ -IT ^T^y >^tff ^ -^y m ^-m ^ '^^ <« <y- j^yy ^? a j?^y
yr ^y _y ^.. .|y ^ ^yj ^^ ^yj^ j^^y ^^
>^ 3y -w -^^y4 H<y ^ly -^y t^ j^yy kk &^r?
Vy <y- H ^ir :?Tr ^^ :b] kk -it
"^r g^ Vr <y--yy<y K'K ^y ^^5! ^-ry y;^ -^y ^y ^Vr >/- <><y
^ ^^ <y-yy<y ':^y 4 4^-. k-k ^y *^m ^ -yy
<y-'Ey ^y :??y ^y ^y4 5^ --y <^y ^ ^y ^ly jr^^-y ^yy<y ^^f -^y
^'r <« <y- ^yy -^} ^ ^y
3y^y <y--yy<y 4 -yy<y kk .c^ ^^a ]} ^
^ -^y V, isy 4 j^y Vr <y-'Hy <^^s=i^ ^w ^^^mit -iu
^yy y;? --^y ^ H<y <><y 4!#iy^^^.^
^1 ^ -iu ^^y --y iy lyiy 4 ^a^? n^y^y ^
rroc. Soc. Bihl. Arch., May, iSSS.
PLATE VL
An Unpublished Inscription of Nebuchadrezzar IL
Column II — coiitinued.
j^^r 1^ rs^^r -r y][ <><t :?^i -i m ii4 ^ -^ ^
.^y <y-n a\ ^\ ^y -y ^^ <n: H<y ^yii <:: ^y<y ^
-y _y ^y -y _y ^yy ^, ;iy4 ^<2<y ^
^y 4 -iu ^y -y 4 iy4 4 ^<<<y ^
^y ^^^ >^ JL.< ^y -y -\ ny ly^J ^.^ ^h ^
^? <« -yy<y ^? kk -y tv %v •?? <« <y- ^yy ^^ 0 ?T^y
^ iy4 -^y-y -^^y4 j^Ai <y-^.^^ <y- t>
-y ly- ly- y? <y- hi -^^y^ hi :n: <y- --y
^ --y 4 H<y y? kk <y-*i±y -yy<y t\t y? kk
^ .^^ H <y- #> m ^y4 <y-yy<y ^y y?
'^^ #> -^y y? K^ j^y ^y^y j^^imi <y>-'^y ^y ^^ ^r\
^y ^ ^yy k-k h :^ ^-yy ^ <y-H >f -yy^ <y-^ ^
m ^, ^^y4 ^y^ '^y «y -yy<y * ^y4 k-k ^:^ ^y
- "^y -ly^ y? -^y -y^ -^ ^, -\>
w -^y -lyt •?? «< -yy<y •:^]? -^> -y ly- ly-
^y^ ^^ a ^y j:^ i^^ cty ::: ^? -^^ ^y4 kk ^
^y^y -ly ':f ;f idi ^ •:^? ^ E^y? %\ ^^ ^2. i? k-k
Column III.
^ ^y ^y >^y j^ yr ^ ^|y j^^yy ,^y
;:^y^y -^ty4 :?:? HI t^ +^ K'K E^y?
^yiff E^ -^y >^y >^y j::^- y? ^ -^ly ^
>^ 'Ey<y y? -^cy^ ^^^y ^\a ^\ <y--yy<y "^y
:^^y 4f^ '^y^y kK ^-y --y ^ty^ >M-y s,-^y ^^ ^^^m- S^
Proc. Soc. Bibl. An/i., May, iS88.
PLATE VJI.
An Unpuulisjied Inscrh'Tion of Nebuchadrezzar II.
Column III — coiitin ucd.
7
8
9
lO
1 1
1 2
13
i4
15
16
17
18
19
20
2 I
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
^f?
^T? KK ^ "EI -in ..y 4^ "BT
^ £14 ^':}^ -II ^^14 <I- :::
.^-. ^ <tt Ml :^] <^h^ -If ^I -I tMU ^11? 1
:ii4 ^ -ii<i H! ^^^}>m ^
^i4 j^ii ^11 4 ^n ^<^i-^H'4?ii -i>
%]^ -^i I? -^>
:t^I -II ^I ^I .11 <Jl
-^i "EI I? ^11 "^i -in 5^11
^^II^LM?^l4 -II .11 ^I
%', - -IT<I J^I^I ^11 ^
:hi4I kk •:f ][ <^< -ii<i ^] -^> -I -I -II #
t^ H4I ^ :hii >^5^ ^11 -^11 m
^ ^] t:^ B Idl 5^ <I-II<I lij <I-H
H ^11 SI 4f^ 3I4I H Tr 114
^ ^^ -^r 5^1 "+1 Ji..^ K-K -I <:^-^i -n E^n
:i^y?
i^:TTn?
rfW-
i-r^i4^^
Vrtt] ^^] ^] m "^I
-I <:::-^i ^ >^^ i^Vy ><}< ^ ^u ^i -i >ff^ "^i
4 t^] %] %} <« -ii<i •?? -^>
^^-II<I ^^I ^^I Vr -i>
^ ^] ^'J^] m m ^i m m Vr
^ >^I ^ ^^I4 •:^n? ^ EH <><I I^ -^I ^1 M] Vr K'K
-II<I <^^ ^ <I-'EI -I C:-! 4^ ^^I <I- >^?fr -^^14 <^^
* <SVf.
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., Mny, iSiS.
PLATE VIII.
An Unpublished Inscription of Nebuchadrezzar II.
Column III — continued.
n -^r m'y kk -!i<r :?fT t? ^n ^ ^^i^ ^ ^r >?^
'^y h -n ^i4 -II j^^r -th i; ^ ^i^r ^^r -ir<i ^? 'et
4f'^ ^ ^yy H ^n 1(4 -i ^-m x^m -^u ^^y^^y yr
y? <y- ^y ^ly ^^i <^y<^ -ly
^lyy ^? -yy<y ih %] s< f^^ h ly^ ^i .^.^ "^y
E^ >^y ^ >^yy c: ^y t> -^y <^^ .^^ *Ey
^? ^-]^ ^y y- -n s?f ^y -ly ^^y -yy<y
jff^y.iy^y -m m t> ^^i
v, -^y -y trill ^yy? -^u -y^y^ y?
^r -iir ^n -11 -^y - ^IT K-K ^Vr
►^ ^y4 -i^y -^^y^ "^y ^ly -v 4?^ 4- bv^
^y <5^y-^ -^y ^^y >^m: ^y^ ^ -yy<y hi 4 s^v? >yyfy ^
^? <« <y- ^y ^'i a ^y
.^m m m mmtW, ^ H^y -my ^ ^y^y ^Ey
^ ^ t> 4^ Ey^y H Vr %]^
-1 t-m ^m w. -^y^y r, ^ tvu kk ^lyy >ff^ >4<
^^y^ ^ ly^y ^^ k^ ^y? Li< #t j^yy --^y ^^y -^^y^ "^y ^y
:Hy<y ^]a ^i m « y? t^]^ ^^ %]^ -v-]^ -^y ^y4 ^^y ^ly 4^ ^Py
:Hy -ly m 4 ^n -!y<y ^? m ^ -^> -^ :^ ":f ; -^^y4 -^i^y ^ly m^ -<<>
m m ^- <h B -yy<y <y-H -y<y iy ^^y^ hi t^
Vr -^y <y- -yy<y jl.^ kk %] ^.^yy ^ a^
-B] }i< <y-yy<y -y 4 <y-'Tiy -y <::-7
^y ^n -yi^j' -yy<y +? ir!i ^ -giy ^.Vr^ :^^y ^-^^ ^ ^n iei ^ y?
^lAY I] PROCEEDINGS. [i88S.
LE CACHET BILINGUE DU ROI TARKUTIMME.
St. Petersbourg, k 14 Mars, i888.
MoN CHER Monsieur Rylands,
En examinant tout dernierement, avec les memoires de
Mr. Sayce (dans les Transactions of the Soc. of Bibl. Arch.) et de
M. Amiaud (dans la Zeitschr. fiir Assyriologie) a la main, I'in-
teressant cachet bilingue du roi Tarkutimmi, je fus amene a cer-
taines reflexions que je voudrais me permettre de vous exposer ici
en quelques mots.
Contra irement a ropinion emise par Mr. Sayce et non refutee
par M. Amiaud, je crois precon(,'ue et non demontree I'idee que
le texte " hittite " du cachet soit absolument la repetition mot-a-mot
de toiite la legende ecrite dans la bande circulaire en caracteres
cuneiformes. La quantite restreinte des signes soi-disant " hittites "
en comparaison du nombre des signes de I'inscription cuneiforme,
m'empeche d'accepter sans reserve une telle supposition.
En effet, ne serait-il pas par trop hasarde de vouloir forcer les
six signes de I'inscription "hittite" a contenir exactement toute la
phrase ecrite en caracteres cuneiformes qui, presqu'en une double
quantite de signes (11) occupe toute la bande circulaire du cachet?
Ne serait-il pas plus seduisant au contraire de penser que I'espace
libre occupe par chacune des deux inscriptions "hittites" etant
de beaucoup plus restreint que la bande circulaire, on se soit bornd
a ne tracer en signes "hittites" rien que le nom du souverain,
sans indication de ses titres.
Si Ton voulait s'arreter sur cette derniere hypothese, on pourrait,
je crois, assigner aux signes de I'inscription "hittite" du cachet de
Tarkutimmi des valeurs syllabiques plus courtes que celle admises
par Mr. Sayce (p. ex. tarku pour /4 et tinwie pour A ), ce qui
serait d'un cote plus conforme a la mani^re, dont le nom du roi
est ecrit en signes cuneiformes, et ce qui, d'un autre cote, nous
livrerait quelques signes syllabiques simples que nous ne reussissons
May I]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[iS88.
que tres imparfaitement a trouver avec I'explication de Mr. Sayce,
mais qui, on peut le dire avec assurance, devaient aussi largement
etre employes dans le systeme "hittite" qu'ils le sont dans le
systeme cuneiforme ou le systeme hieroglyphique des I^gyptiens.
En disposant done selon le systeme de M. Amiaud (le seul
acceptable a la condition de laisser indetermine la position reci-
proque des deux derniers signes mm et I), nous pourrons sup-
poser pour les signes " hittites " du cachet de Tarkutimmi des
valeurs selon le tableau suivant.
I ere supposition, a^me supposition. 3^me supposition.
m > §"/
m^
(
tar
ku
ta
ar
ku
ta
ku
tail
Je ferai remarquer tout de suite la ressemblance dans la forme des
signes qui selon les i*"'^ et 2™" suppositions auraient la valeur /;;/ et wi,
c'est-a-dire qui tous deux renfermeraient la consonne m precedee
ou suivie de la voyelle /.• dans un cas c'est le simple signe m
(allonge outre mesure sur le cachet, selon moi, pour des raisons
de symmetric), dans I'autre cas c'est le meme signe deux fois
repute (pour la hauteur a peu pres ^gale des deux signes 11 et Mjm
cf. Jerab. II, 1. i). Ces deux signes si etroitement lies par leur
forme et par les voyelles et les consonnes qui, suivant la i"" et la
2*""= suppositions, leur pourraient etre inherentes, se retrouvent de
370
May i] proceedings. 1888.
nouveau a la suite I'un de I'autre sur Tempreinte d'un cachet
appartenant a M. Schlumberger, et public sous le No. 12 dans
W. Wright, The Empire of the Hittites, sur la planche intitulee
Terra-cotta seals ifi the possess mi of AI. Schlumberger, Paris, etc.
Comme dans ce cas je ne crois pouvoir m'attendre a trouver sur
le cachet qu'un ou tout au plus deux noms propres, je ne peux
pas (aussi peu que sur le cachet de Tarkutimmi) accepter ici
I'explication de " roi " que Mr. Sayce assigne a I'hieroglyphe ||
Plutot proposerais-je de lire le commencement de I'un des noms
propres sur I'empreinte de M. Sclilumberger : Mi-iin ou
Iin-7ni (a la rigueur meme Mi-tim ou Tim-mi ....).
Voila, mon cher Monsieur Rylands, les quelques remarques
que j'ai cru pouvoir faire sur les inscriptions du cachet de Tarku-
timmi. Tout en soumettant ces remarques a votre bienveillante
attention, je me permets d'esperer que vous ne leur refuserez pas
une petite place dans les Tratisactio?is ou les Proceedings de la
Society of Biblical Archceology, afin que je puisse par la connaitre
au sujet de mes suppositions I'opinion des autres membres de la
Society, qui s'interessent aussi aux essais du dechiffrement des
inscriptions " hittites."
Agreez, Monsieur, I'assurance de mon profond estime,
W. GOLENISCHEFF.
•^37?
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
THE NAME GENUBATH.
Weston-super-Mare,
My Dear Mr. Rylands, March 26, 1888.
At last perhaps I have traced to its origin the name rin^^j
' Genubath,' borne by the son of the sister of Takhpankhes the
Egyptian queen and Hadad the Edomite prince to whom the
Pharaoh had given her in marriage (i Kings xi, 20).
It is mentioned by Brugsch {Zeitschr. fiir Aeg. Sj>r., 1882, 33)
that in one place in the statistical tablet of Karnak {te7>ip.
Thothmes III) the land of Punt is represented by the Egyptian
word ^ J ^ ^ "Hil J j S''^'-^'"'- The Semitic c_>y<r^ , 'the
South ' (he says) lies clearly at the bottom of the ethnic name.
The word, with Egyptian complexion in style and grammatical
form, signifies always ' the South-folk.'
On the other hand Dr Birch {Records, II, 23) thought that "the
word seems to mean 'curly haired,'" and Pierret {Vocab., 654) gives
the word ^ 1 Ul genb-t, on Brugsch's authority as meaning
'tress, lock of hair,' the determinative being (as in the ethnic name)
a tress of hair.
At all events we have here (it seems) the name given by the
Egyptian princess to her son, whether it means ' the curly,' or ' the
Southern,' or 'the Pilnite'; and we add one more to the list of
liiblical names which are traced in Egyptian record, and one more
' undesigned coincidence ' of a characteristic name to those already
noted in the Old Testament.
In the LXX we have Tain^pa.0^
Yours sincerely,
Henry George Tomkins.
372
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The following notes have been added by the President: —
The Kenbetu and the Semitic South.
There is, I fear, an anachronism in the statement that "the
Semitic t_jy.:?- ,* ' the South,' Ues at the bottom of the ethnic
name " koibetu.
The word /;_>.\-»- , being Arabic, is certainly Semitic, but what
evidence is there that at the time of Thothmes III any Semitic word
like It had the meaning of ' South,' or rather ' South-wind' ?
There are seven names for the South in Hebrew, but this is not
one of them. The word is equally unknown in the sense of South
to Syriac or to Chaldee.f The Assyrian name of the South is sidu,
evidently the same as the Talmudic ^^n^tl?. The common Ethiopic
name is AhL'f):, which is identical with the Arabic t ^ j^, the name
in common use at Mecca, and said to be the only one known to
the people of Yemen and to the traders between Jeddah and Aden.
Another Ethiopic name is fT^'i : of the same origin as the Hebrew
It is only in Arabic that geniib means * south-wind,' but this is
not its primitive meaning ; , ^^ simply signifies ' side,' and accord-
ing to native lexicographers the name of Jl^ is given to the wind
which blows from the right, and c_->jAj^ to that which blows from
the left side of a person standing opposite to the Qibleh. But before
there was a Qibleh at Mecca all Semites faced the East in deter-
mining the points of the compass, so that the West was behind "^H^^
(Assyrian aharru), the North on the left and the South on the right.
When therefore the ante-islamic poet in the Moallaqat speaks of
traces in the sand woven by the winds, Jl^. < ^^^ ^^ ^'"''^
geiiubin wa-semdli, he may mean " from south and north," but not
necessarily more than " from right and left."
More than twelve hundred years before Imr al-Keis, Sennacherib
says (Taylor Cylinder VI, 53) that he placed his winged lions and
bulls imna u siimela, ' right and left,' and though from time imme-
morial 7t^^U? has been used for 'north,' we have no right to assume
* The j:s^ in Brugsch's article is an obvious misprint.
t The Samaritan Version of the Pentateuch uses the word nom-
373
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [i8S8.
that this is its meaning, when there is no indication of a geographical
application. ' North ' is never its meaning, for instance, in the
Koran, 'j"^^'', also signifying ' the right,' is equally used in the
sense of South ; ijoUj *<;. is the ' South-wind.'
But the favourite word of the ancient Christian and Jewish
translators of the Bible was .^jC', the same word as the Hebrew
]^"'jn the Syriac U^a*2 and the Ethiopic rl'^'^:. This word, how-
ever, has persistently been replaced by the now more familiar genilb.
In Egypt \Si qibly was the recognized expression for South in
the time of Makrizi, who tells us that North Egypt was called El-
bahri and the South El-qibly. But many centuries before him the
Patriarch Eutychius uses the expression when speaking of the Caliph
Omar praying at the southern arch of the Church at Bethlehem.
Silvestre de Sacy says, " J'ai en ma possession un acte passe en
Egypte, portant donation, en faveur d'etablissemens religieux, de
differentes maisons et boutiques situees au Caire : . . . . les quatre
points cardinaux y sont toujours indiques par les mots Jj^ oriental,
^k occidetital, Jjjj vieridio7ial,et ^ -sT septe?itrional."
The use of this term qibly is not limited to Egypt, but extends
over the whole northern coast of Africa, and it is from it that tlie
Kabyles have borrowed their own designations of the South. It is
also the usual Turkish term.
The determinative "^J^ is the only motive for the conjectural
meanings, 'curly haired,' 'tress,' 'lock of hair.' ^ ^ ^ "^
kenbet is merely a nasalized form of S V\ ^^ kabet, ' eyebrow,'
a kindred word to S"^. \ -^j ^>'^^'^ (Tbo^e 'a leaf,' (M. XCO^.!,)
and S^\ J'^^^fl kabu (T^OI 'an arm,' (M. Zc{)Ol),* the
primitive sense being 'curving, bending.'
* ^ A: is palatal, hence the passage from (> to X- It is the same process as
that by which the k sound in certain Latin words beginning with c has been
changed in Italian words like cilia, celchre, cicerone, and in English words like
church, chick, child from circ, cock, cild. The Coptic X. like the old Egyptian |,
is not g but ts, like the Italian c before e and /. The name of it is not Djandja but
Tshantsha. The detestable habit of using medial letters in the transcription of
Egyptian words loses sight of important phonetic facts like these.
37.4
May i] . PROCEEDINGS. [i8S8.
Brugsch does not say that the word kenbetii " signifies always the
'South-folk,'" but that it signifies "the 'S>oVi\h.-{o\\i generally T This
is a mere inference from the supposed etymology. I do not
suppose the people called themselves ' Southerns,' but if they had
wished so to do, the people from Punt would not have thought of
genub, and the Egyptians would not, in the time of Thothmes III,
have designated them by an Arabic term which probably did not
come into existence till nearly two thousand years later.
I do not remember the words ^ c, ^^ Yh rJf l kenbetu
occurring as an ethnic name in more than one place, which is thus
translated in Brugsch's " History of Egypt."
"Then arrived the ambassadors of Ganabut, who brought with
them their tributes: 5 . . . . incense and Kama, 10 negroes for
service, 113 oxen and calves, 230 bulls, 343 in all." *
This translation however skips over an enormous gap (measuring
at least six inches on the plates of Lepsius and Mariette) after the
words " incense and ka . . ." What proof is there that the negroes,
oxen, and calves formed part of the tribute of " Ganabut " ? The
next line shows that they were part of the tribute of Punt, the name
of which no doubt appeared in the missing part of the inscription.
But of the identity between Punt and Kenbetu there is no proof
that I can discover. Both produced the incense called A?ita, but
so did others, and, as we all know, there are salmons both in
Macedon and in Monmouth.
Is ^ U ^ y\ ^ a correct Egyptian transcription of jll^;) ,
or vice versa 1 In answering this question reference must be had to
the period. The Egyptians who had no medial letters in their
language, were obliged, when transcribing Semitic names, to use
surds instead. In the inscriptions of the Ramesside period and
1 ater one the letter g is undoubtedly found transcribed by J^ k.
But it was not so in the time of Thothmes III : —
* Gesch. Acgyptens, 31 1 ; English translation, I, 332. M. de Rouge, in his
translation, " Rev. Arch.," i860, II, p. 301, carefully inserts three lines of
between ka . , . and the 'negroes,' &c. Brugsch's 5 and his ... . are in the
wrong places. There were 5 not 10 negroes.
375
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [iSS8,
"Les Egyptiens n'avaient pas le ^," says Mariette.* " Neuf
fois . . . . ils Font rendu par ^ — ^. On le rencontre deux fois ....
transcrit par A, une fois .... par J^, (en supposant que la lecture
de ce dernier nom soit certaine)."
The only instance in which Mariette believes S can be found
representing a Hebrew g is in _£:^ ^ ^ ft %v ' -^^^^^'^> on the
supposition that this is meant for ^^n^, Tsiklag !
This last rope is evidently a rotten one, and we must, I fear,
return to the natural derivation from 3,211 of the name Genubath, as
" gotten by stealth," or " furtively."
* Listes Geographiques, p. 5.
376
Procee&ngs Scc.MUlJreh.l^.X.
N«l.
O 9lA0 ®APy
N03.
M ^ A/ O K A ^ 1 Q E; V t- P A A^ / O
N°5
>^A/A^ |K0|>TOloTorEPo>^/
X AOl
EARLY GREE.K INSCRIPTIONS FROM ABYDOS
COPIED BY PROF. A.H. SAYCE.
May i] proceedings. [iS88,
SOME GREEK GRAFFITI FROM ABYDOS.
By Professor A. H. Sayce.
At the beginning of 18S4 I spent a fortnight in the village of
Arabat el-Madfuneh, which has succeeded the ancient city of
Abydos in Upper Egypt, occupying myself in copying the graffiti
with which the walls of the ruined temples of Seti I and Ramses II
are covered. Two years later I w^as again at Abydos for a day, my
chief purpose being to examine the exterior of the peribolos or wall
of enclosure which Prof. INIaspero had disinterred since my previous
visit to the place.
The Greek graffiti of x\bydos are the most interesting in Egypt.
Not only are they exceedingly numerous — almost equal in number'
in fact, to the whole of the Greek graffiti I have copied elsewhere
south of Cairo — but some of them are older than any others yet
found in Egypt except at Naukratis and Abu-Simbel. Among the
early inscriptions there are a few which present us with non-Ionic
alphabets and dialects, while starting from the age of Alexander
the Great there are frequent examples of Greek cursive writing, well
worth the attention of students of this form of Hellenic script.
The graffiti have, moreover, enabled me to trace the later history
of the temple of Seti, to determine the locality of that oracle of
Besa or Bes which played an important part in the last days of
Egyptian paganism, and to throw light on the commencement of
Greek intercourse with Upper Egypt. On the present occasion I
shall quote only those of them which have served to elucidate
these three points. The publication of the complete collection
must be deferred until I can include in it the other Greek graffiti
which I have copied on the rocks and monuments of Egypt from
Cairo to Assuan. It is sufficient now to remark that, although I
have made an almost exhaustive collection of the latter, it is only at
Abydos that I have found any which go back to an earlier period
than that of the Macedonian kings. At Thebes, for instance, there
is not a scrap of Greek writing which can claim a higher antiquity
than the Ptolemaic age.
377
May I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
The earliest Greek inscriptions I have found at Abydos to which
a positive date can be assigned, are two written one below the
other (No. i), which run 'Savk/Hmj's /<,' (-'//Jni/^e, " Naukrates wrote
me," and M (?)... 1/? yXOe tvOe'ue (i)* " Megakles (?) came here."
A person called Kaikos — a name which recalls that of the river
Kaikos in x'Eolis — has inscribed his name after the second text in
Ionian letters of the same age as those of the first graffito. These
letters are shown, by the Milesian inscriptions, to be not later than
B.C. 550. The form of the 7 differs from that found either at
Miletos or at Abu-Simbel (b.c. 590) and is identical with that of the
early inscriptions of Thera, though the sigma and psi agree with
those of Miletos, and not with those of Abu-Simbel. On the other
hand, the second graffito presents us with a form of the epsilon
which takes us back to a more remote period than the inscriptions
either of Miletos or of Abu-Simbel. It is a form which resembles
that of the epsilon in the Korinthian alphabet, and, as I have shown
in my Paper on the Kariafi Inscriptions, is the form presupposed
in the primitive Greek alphabet, from which the Karian alphabet
was derived. This fact, coupled with the further fact that the
inscriptions of Naukratis prove the four-barred sigma, as might
naturally be expected, to be older than the three-barred sig/na,
incline me to believe that my Abydos texts are earlier than those of
Abu-Simbel, and not later, as the analogy of the Milesian inscriptions
would lead us to believe. I should assign them to B.C. 600 rather
than to B.C. 560.
The other early inscriptions are not in the Ionic dialect. Three
at least (Nos. 2, 3, 4) appear to be in one of the dialects of Krete.
At all events, Trpi-^ieno^ for the ordinary Greek TrpefffivTUTo^ is found
in a Kretan inscription (Boeckh's Corpus, 2554, 57), where it is
written Trpei'^tffroi. The same root seems to show itself in the proper
name npi(y-7rv6io<i ; compare the Latin pris-cus and pris-ti7ius. The
retention of the original a instead of the Ionic i] {XXcpuwr plca-i and
a7c), and the substitution of i for c before a vowel must be noticed,
as well as the want of the alphabetic symbols ?/ and w. The Homeric
and Boeotian genitive in -ao ('A/(«xct«o) is also interesting, unless we
should read ^Afxaxe-Ta with the usual Doric contraction of -ao into a.
The first of these inscriptions (No. 2) is : QapvaOcvcf QioKpno<^ u
0<Xo[s] Qapi{rjci^Oeos:] " Tharysthenes (and) Theokritos the friend of
* It is probable that the u]3rit^ht stroke at the end of the graffito is intended
to mark the end of the inscription.
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Tharysthenes." With the name QapvaOcvip must be compared those
of QapVTTToXefWs' and QapvTTas'.
No. 3 is more interesting. Uepiavcpica^ 6 to "Wo Mcj^o'/iXe?
'A/ia;^67ao Ka . . . OaOKXctcs MevokXc^ o 'EvCppavi'o 7rpt^/iaro9 «rye,
" Periandridas the son of Hyllos ; Menokles the son of Amakhetas
Menokles the son of Euphranias led as chief" Neither
Amakhetas nor the patronymic Periandridas occur in Pape's Lexicon.
The appearance of the article before the name of "\\o is puzzling,
but it may be due to the fact that the Hyllos was the name of a
river in Lydia. The second hne may be rendered " Menokles the
son of Amakhetas the K . . thaokleian " (o K« . . . ). However this
may be, one fact at all events results from the inscription. The per-
sons recorded in it were mercenaries, engaged in a military expedition,
which may have been the famous one of Psammetikhos II into
Ethiopia, memorials of which have been preserved at Abu-Simbel.
The proper name Prispythios (No. 3) is new, like that of
Mnasimortos (No. 4). The first line of No. 4 reads " Mnasimortos
the son of the old man," Mi/ao-Z/io/JTos- 6 to <yepo[vTO'i'\. Ky/teVz/s- in
the third line seems to be in a later handwriting, and not to belong
to the graffito. We can hardly suppose that the author of the name
made a mistake, and intended to write o KXiyieV;/?,
These archaic Greek inscriptions are all on the right wall of the
great staircase which runs up westward at the back of Seti's temple,
a chamber added by Meneptah I adjoining it on the left or southern
side. Karian and Phoenician graffiti adorn the same wall, as well as
numerous Greek graffiti of later date. Indeed it is just in this part
of the temple, on the two walls of the staircase, and of the passage
leading to it that the graffiti are clustered together most thickly,
many of them being only about a foot above the level of the steps of
the staircase. The cause of the fact is revealed to us by a Greek
graffito engraved on the wall of what I will call the southern
chamber. The chamber was never finished, and its walls are con-
sequently plain and bare, their only ornamentation consisting of a
Karian graffito with a head above it (No. 10, PI. II, of my Paper on
the Karian Inscriptions), and the Greek graffito in question. This
contains four elegiac verses which run as follows : —
'^vda^e laveGKov Kai aXijOea'i- kioov oveipovs'
'^ApTTOKpa'i ce S'p.)^'} YlaviaOo'i uaeT)j^,
lpev<i Ko7r^J6<o o (pi\o^ "jovo^ aprjTtjpo'i
B>j(T(i Trai'OfKpuitv ' kcu "^upi^ ovk uXi'^pj,
379 2 H
May i] society OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGV. [iSS8.
" Here I slept and beheld true dreams : now Harpokrates is
the inhabitant of the Panic scene, the beloved offspring of the
bedesman Kopreias, himself a priest to Bes, the sender of ominous
voices ; and not slight is the favour."
It is obvious from this that the empty chamber of Meneptah
was believed to be the seat of an oracle. Here the priest of the
god from whom the oracles came had to sleep at night and receive
in his visions the answers to the questions propounded by the
visitors to the sanctuary. While they waited in the corridor or
on the steps of the staircase outside they amused themselves by
recording their names, and the fact that in so many instances the
names are written just above the level of the steps shows that
they must often have passed the night in the near neighbourhood
of the sacred oracle. The height at which the names are found
would be that attainable by a man in a recumbent position.
Bes or Besa, however, was not the original god to whom the
oracles of Abydos had been ascribed. The oracle, at least in the
Greek sense of the word, was an institution foreign to the Egyptians,
and first introduced into the country by the Greeks. The god of
Abydos had been Osiris, and it was in honour of Osiris that the
temple of Seti had originally been reared. The fact was still re-
membered in the time of Strabo. But before the days of the first
Greek visitors to the spot the temple must already have been
partially in ruin. In no other way can we explain the presence
of Greek and Kypriote and Karian graffiti within one of those
Egyptian temples, from which the unclean foreigner was so jealously
excluded. Already when the first Greek graffiti were engraved on
the wall of the great staircase the ancient sanctuary must have
been open to the stranger and its sanctity must have departed
from it. That the temple was in much the same condition as it
is now only two or three centuries later is proved by a curious
graffito I found in the cella of Horus. It was written by two
Galatse or Gauls, who may have belonged to the contingent of 4,00c
Gauls enrolled by Ptolemy Philopator (b.c. 222 — 205), under the
command of Dionysios the Thrakian, in his war against Antiokhos.*
ijKOov ti'||0«rej ku'i (Wicttcko I'XafSor t^i'ddre.
* They may however have formed part of the mercenary force employed
by Ptolemy II in his war against Magas of Kyrene (B.C. 265) and afterwards
treacherously massacred by him.
380
May i] TROCEEDINGS. iS88.
" Of the Gauls, Thoas Kallistratos (&) x\kann6n Apollonios came
here and caught a fox here."
We should note the double names, the Keltic name coming
first and the Greek surname being added to it. In the same cella
is the record of another Gaul (FrtXaTj/v l^rjfxrppioy) who bore a
Greek name only, and is not so communicative as his two brethren.
The curious little fact of which they tell us is a clear proof that in
the Ptolemaic era the temple was as ruined and deserted as it is
to-day.
Its ruin may have been assisted by the capture of the town of
Abydos, of which we are informed by a graffito I copied in the cella
of Isis. This runs as follows : — <I>(XoA.A/ys 'Ie/>ofc.\e'oy? Tpoi^ijino'i
TTape'yevtOyi' tt* fioaKvvd'v jov '^apa(jriv) eirl T/ys- 'A/Svcov TroXiopKid^
L ic Uauvi kT] ; " I, Philokles, the son of Hierokles the Troizenian,
am come adoring Sarapis, the 20th year of the era of the siege of
Abydos, the 28th day of the month Payni." The mention of
Sarapis shows that the date of the graffito is later than the reign of
Ptolemy I, when the Serapeum was built at Alexandria and the god
of Sinope was brought to Egypt, there to be identified with Osiris
(Tac. Hist., IV, 83). Abydos was doubtless implicated in one of
the risings of Upper Egypt against the Ptolemies, more especially
that suppressed by Ptolemy Epiphanesf, and the siege referred to
in the inscription may have contributed to bring about the decline
of which Strabo was a witness.
It will be noticed that Philokles visited the temple to adore, not
Bes, but Sarapis. In fact, most of the graffiti of the Ptolemaic
epoch prove that at this time the oracle was worked in the name of
Sarapis, the fashionable god of the Greeks of Alexandria. Thus we
find in the cella of Horus : "^epcnriuM' i']KW 26/j/3a7r<[^t] 7roT6'/j[(], "I
Serapion am come to father Serrapis " (sic), and on the left side of
* The TT is written 3. Tlie Yi\\o\e. graffito is in a cursive hand.
t The Rosetta Stone, engraved in B.C. 196, commemorates the final suppression
of the revolt. A different era is referred to in the graffiti in the cella of Horus :
(1) fTovQ Le ^apfiovOi u 'S-tpa-rr'nov 'ApxEcrrparou 'Op^uiaitVQ TrapiyivsOr], and
(2) Le ^apoviwv Xapfxiinrov Boiwriot;. So, too, on the left side of the great
staircase: (l) HsidayopaQ Yltidayopov or' d<piKtTO iiri awrripiai Lie, and (2)
^Tpdrujv "SlinvOaro (sic) Lie, and in the cella of Osiris : "E[y]/ajAoc 'AprtfjuOupuv
Zepyalot; ?/[kw] Lie. On the great staircase we also find KAiantrog tirl (jwrtjpiai
"Po^oij^ dcptKtTO Lie.
-.81
M\Y I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [1888.
the great staircase: 'A/u-i'tj/ (sic) '\(nvpTru\ov (sic) ^/kw eW Ajiu^ov
jTiihs rw :^d(Hi-n'^, "I Amynte(s), the son of Astypalos, am come
to Abydos to Sarapis." Elsewhere the inscriptions record the
gratitude of the pilgrim to the god for preservation from some
calamity. In the cella of Osiris, for instance, we read: (i) ri<V'/'
ni'^lfiov^ 'AXtk-ain'ciffevv (sic) atvOei'v tt/jos toj/ 'EapaTTiv, " Pigres the SOn
of Pigres of Halikarnassos, to Sarapis for mercies received;" (2)
TavvKO^ ' Aaaev<s avoOel^ irpo^ tou ^dpuTrtv, " Ganykos of ASSOS tO
Sarapis for mercies received;" (3) 'S.drvpo^ Trpundfiaxo^ TapovXa^
awOci'Tc^ Trph'i toj/ 'S.dpaTriv, " Satyros, a fighter in the first rank, (and)
Taroulas to Sarapis for mercies received." Other graffiti com-
memorating Sarapis are to be found in the cella of Isis : Ile'TaAo?
'A'^iaOoKXeov-i Opa7^ Trape'^ievedy'f vpb^ tov ^dpinriv von^Ujin'a, " PetaloS,
the son of Agathokles the Thrakian, was present to worship Sarapis
on the new moon;" and on the nth column of the exterior court :
Ai]/i7iTpiov 'Afi^iWflov uv creKeu Aiovvaia to TrpoaKi'vij/iia [to] wapa jxou
U ^i'lpairiv Oehv, " Demetrios the son of Ammonios, whom Dionysia
boie : my act of adoration to the god Sarapis." In one instance
Sarapis, instead of receiving the place of honour is named after Isis :
YlavpiDV <l^i\o7n'ov 2o'X<o9 I'jKto TrpoffKvvijffat Oeovs fic^aXov^ 'laiv icai
'S.tipaTTiv, " I Pauron, the son of Philopios of Soli, am come to adore
the great gods Isis and Sarapis." Here Sarapis is associated with
Isis and consequently made identical with Osiris, so that we need
not be surprised at finding the old god of Abydos taking the place
of Sarapis in some of the graffiti. Thus we have : ^mipraKo^
<i>ai'cpov i]Kw I 'Afiucwv ' ^w^c (sic) fxe "Oaipi, " I Spartakos, the son of
Phaidros, am come to Abydos : save me, Osiris ! " (on the left side
of the great staircase) ; and in a recess to the left of the central
cella, under a demotic inscription, runs apparently in the same
hand : ) ^v (sic) i0 Mccopij te \ cKpiKero 'tipaKXeicijc TrpO'i -roc "Ocipic
(sic), "The 19th year, the 15th day of the month Mesore,
Herakleides has come to Osiris (or ' the Osirises ? ') " Osiris is at
times called "the god" simply, as on the left wall of the great
staircase where the following graffiti are written one under the
other : "Ec^/ks- ^PiXuKpdreo^ Kvp}]inuo'i ' Ko'ths dfpincro. 'A/)^'"''" Qp"^^
tVt awTijpi'ai Trpb^ t'ov Oedr, " Euphris the SOU of Philokrates, a
Kyrensean. Kotys has come. Arkhias a Thrakian for salvation
* The graffito is like most of the others in a cursive hand. The initial of
Sapairiv is written %.
t Here the ir is written V .
382
May i] proceedings. [iSS8.
(has come) to the god ; '' and elsewhere we read : XeoTr-oXe/Aos
^X6e TTjjos Tov Oeov. In association with Isis the plural is of course
used ; thus in the cella of Osiris we have : 'AOip'ocwpou kuI
'AOrjvoSiopov Kal 'S.apaTriuco^ kcu Qedvov->' ical 'A«cr[;\;i'Xoi' kui\ 'EifUfvaioii
'ApTe/jLi8wpov wce to Trpo^KVurifiot —apa 7019* e.v 'AfivStv Oeol's ' AOrjvoluopov
iJKU), "this is the act of worship of Athenodoros and Athenodoros
and Sarapias and Theanes and ^skhylos and Eirensos, the son of
Artemidoros, to the gods that are in Abydos. I Athenodoros am
arrived."
A time came however when Serapis, or Sarapis, who had
superseded Osiris, was himself superseded by a new god. Just as
the Ptolemaic era of Egypt was characterised by the worship of
Serapis, the Roman era was characterised by the worship of Bes.
Ees had originally been a foreign god, imported from the land of
Punt, and his grotesque features and obscene associations, however
popular they may have been among the lower orders, prevented him
from assuming a high position among the official deities. But
when the power and rank of the old priestly aristocracy had been
broken down, the popular god became an official god as well, more
especially among the Greek and foreign population. The oracle
of Bes, or Besa, took the place of that of Serapis, and the deity
who inspired the prophets of Abydos was no longer Serapis or
Osiris, but the repulsive Bes. The inscriptions I have copied there
prove that the Abydos of Ammianus Marcellinus, where the oracle
of Besa was established, was not the modern village of Sheikh
Abadeh among the ruins of Antinoopolis, as has often been sup-
posed, but the sacred city of Abydos itself. From the first or second
century of the Christian era, as is indicated by the handwriting,
the graffiti at Abydos begin to make mention of Bes, while the
name of Besas occurs among the visitors to the shrine.
Accordingly, we find on the left hand side of the great staircase :
[To 7rpo(7K^vw)jjHa 'A/iijiiuJviWa<i \^7rap^a tw Kvpiw By<T«, "The aCt of
worship of Ammonilla to the Lord Bes ; " and on the 7th column
of the exterior court : To TrpoaKvvi^fiu ' AaTriCa-Tov XIvOlovIkov Kal Twv
aCe\,(jiwv avTov icui rwv TeKvtcv icctt ^Ivpwuo^ Kut T/ys "IWcuko^ avrou k(u
Twv -re.Kvwv ainwv k(u tovtwv tGjv (piXtjov ainov eK (f)v-^?j<i (J)i\\ovvt~\u)v kut
hvoaa icai too uva^nvwaKoi^To^ 6<§ tov aei "xpoi'ov '•/evono Trapd tw Kvpiw
Brjaa ical toZs uWok Oeoli. " The act of worship of Aspidatosf the
* Written ^\^ .
t It will be noticed that this is a Persian name.
383 2 H 2
May i] society OF BI15LICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY. [1888.
son of Pythionikos and his brother and children, and of Myron and
his wife and their children, and of their friends who love him
heartily (each) by name and of the reader: may it be for ever to-
wards Bes the lord and the other gods."
The most important evidence however of the worship of Bes at
Abydos I obtained not within the temple itself but on the external
face of the enclosure wall, just outside the door which opened
through it upon the top of the great staircase. This wall was
completely buried in rubbish on the occasion of my first visit, but it
was afterwards cleared by Prof. Maspero, and it was while examining
its surface during a second visit to Abydos, in 1885, that I noticed
the graffiti in question. Unfortunately I was in Abydos on this
second occasion for a few hours only, and as the sun was shining
directly upon the graffiti at the time I copied them it was impossible,
owing to their semi-mutilated condition, to decipher all the letters they
contained. I asked Prof Maspero and M. Bouriant who visited
Abydos subsequently to examine them again, but the glare of the
sun prevented them from even discovering the graffiti during the
short stay they made in the place. Consequently I have to re-
produce them here with all the imperfections of a hasty copy.
What made the reading of them particularly difficult was the
fact that they had been purposely chipped away. The handwriting
of them showed that they must have been engraved upon the stones
of the wall not very long before the final triumph of Christianity in
this part of Egypt, and one of the first achievements of the disciples
of the new faith was to destroy these relics of Paganism.
We can perhaps determine the very year in which this took
place. Ammianus Marcellinus (xix, 12), tells us that in a.d. 359
the Emperor Constantine was excited by the intelligence that
questions about his life had been sent to the oracle of Bes in Upper
Egypt by means of letters. A furious persecution at once broke out
against those who were accused of being implicated in such Pagan
practices. Simplicius the ex-consul and Parnasius the ex-prefect
were banished, while the aged philosopher Dcmetrios Khytras was
put to the rack, without however any disclosures being extorted
from him. It must have been at this time that the oracle of Abydos
was finally suppressed, and that the Christians of the neigbourhood
were allowed to do what they chose with the old temple of Seti.
The chamber in which the oracle was worked was deserted, no
doubt because it was regarded as the haunt of demons, and a
384
May iJ PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Christian church estabhshed in the chambers immediately in its rear.
These, which are now as ruined as the chamber of the oracle, still
bear upon their walls and columns traces of the frescoes and the
Coptic inscriptions in red paint with which they were once adorned.
Though the population of Abydos has remained for the most part
Christian, the old church which found a shelter in the temple of
Seti long ago ceased to be used, and like the rest of the building
became filled with earth and rubbish which was first removed by
Mariette.
Here are the ex-votos in honour of Besa to which I have
referred : —
I. To 7rj)o<7Kvinj/na "S/CiTrpt'iL'i'O'i 'K^{icm(j')^ou Trapa ~w Kvp(\_w Byffnl k6"
Ilavvi T(. " The act of worship of Saprion Enkatokhos (the
inspired) to the lord Besa, the 29th year, the 17th day of
the month Payni."
II. To TrpoffKvinji.ia 'Epjiiocwpov. " The act of worship of Hemo-
doros."
III. Tov Kvpiou B/ycraf jiirjSiv {su) a7ra\)f\drc/j ' to TrpoffKVfiifia
BijauVT(?)ou Bi'jcia Ti/uioOeov (TVi'fii'oi' -' ainou kul CiCv/tiiwj'
{siC) inw\_i'J avTou kg} 5! . . . Trapa tlc icupiw Oeltv Bl Hcr«.
" Let no one banish (?) the lord Besa ! The act of
worship of Besautes (?) the son of Besa Timotheos, and
his wife, and his twin sons, and S . . . to the lord god
Besa." I imagine that «7r«X>/Ao-a' is an analogic forma-
tion from (i-eXavinc.
IV. Tor Kvpioi' Bjjcroj' " \jrp^oaKvvij^a AX(?)oi' .... TO/novcei'~ . .
Kcivo^iov .... TToXiToi' ovv roK^evdi ainou j Tapijcri^
Kai Y\a7rw^ol3)f -?j "ivraiKi Tap^^tifftc/j Kai Q . . . . kcii
Uapavi k-al 'At( . . . [jo^u 0/\7oto[/']. "The lord Besa!
Act of worship of A a citizen of ... . along with
his parents . . . Taresis and Paposhobe the wife of
Taresis, and Th . . . and Paraus, and Ati . . the much
beloved one."
V. X/)[/;<Tjnoe[<J/c[o9j KOi 'ATfcl'<TTo[^] ATfU c[oi)]Xo( ol 0//CO l''/ie[t/0/ 1
/<[ «/j] 7 y/Jo ?/<£!' [ojy^jai'to." Oeov [Byffai/]' /xijSe't^ a^^vroi'
aTTaXrjXfirw'j to TrpoaKvi'rj^ia 'H/>a/c\e/[c]oy M(?) . . er^afie . . .
XtT[7/]]s e/.iTTopov TTapd T6 ''I<T[t^f KQi 'Oai'jpiBi \_Kal . . . j?^?
avj^ijiiov fiov ']ipa\_ic\eicov^ Kai twv t^c^kvivv juov . . . avov-
liiw\j'o^~\ '0\vfi,TrioYpi\Kov Kai 'Qpi'tvvo^ Kai TaX(?)/^Toc Kai
KoWevdov . . VK TTttT . . . Kai B/^ffa^Tov. "We Khres-
May I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL AKCILEOLOGY. [1888.
modikos and Ateustos, and the slaves who dwell (here)
testify to the god of heaven, Besa ! Let no one banish (?)
him ! The act of worship of Herakleides .... a
merchant to Isis and Osiris, and of . . . the wife of me
Herakleides, and of my sons . . . Anubion Olympiodikos,
and Orion, and Tales (?) and KoUeuthes . . . and
Besaus."
Here it is curious to find the memory of Isis and Osiris still
surviving into the days when their temple had become the property
of a foreign god. But the names of the sons of Herakleides show
that he was only half a Greek. The names are partly Greek, partly
Egyptian, and the strange worship of the Gra;co-Roman Besa by the
side of the Egyptian Osiris is but another proof of an attempt to
serve two masters. The god of the Greek oracle, whether he
were called Serapis or Besa, remained to the last an object of
worship only to the Grceco-Roman population or to those Egyptians
who wished to be thought Greeks ; the genuine Egyptian continued
faithful to the ancient deities of Abydos, and when he adopted
Christianity it was Osiris and not Besa whose worship he forsook.
Perhaps the divorce that had come about between the paganism
of the ill-treated natives and the paganism of their Greek and Roman
masters was in a measure the cause of the rapid spread of Coptic
Christianity.
However this may be, the Greek graffiti of the temple of Abydos,
as will now be clear, have shown not only what was the history of
the temple itself and the Greek oracle that was celebrated in it
from the time when the Greeks first came to Egypt down to the
triumph of Christianity, they have also thrown light on the religious
condition of the Grseco-Egyptian population during the same period
as well as upon a dark epoch in the history of Upper Egypt. We
can trace how the oracle established itself in the deserted chamber
of Seti's temple almost as soon as Greek mercenaries made their
appearance in the valley of the Nile ; how its answers were revealed
to Greek priests through the medium of dreams ; how it was con-
sulted exclusively by foreigners — Greeks, Karians, Phoenicians, and
Romans, or in later days by Egyptians who had adopted foreign
fashions ; and how Osiris, the ancient god of Abydos, had to make
way first for Serapis and then for Bes. Nowhere else can we
trace in such detail the history of a Hellenic oracle.
.^.86
May I] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The Karian and Phoenician graffiti which I copied on the walls
of the temple have already been published, like the graffiti in
Kypriote characters which belong to the Greeks of Kypros. Among
the Greek graffiti there are several which have some interest of
their own, although they have no bearing upon history. Some of
them contain examples of proper names belonging to tribes and
nations on the borders of the Greek world, such as Y^avlaaa or
'YciovKU'wi Ka^if3i'iJvo9 jjKw, " I Hydiukinas son of Kazibirys am
come" (on the left side of the great staircase), or the Thrakian
'Al3\ov^e\/iii^ KoTvo?, " Ablu-zelmis the son of Kotys," which accom-
panies the names of Koopa^io's and " Spalkas the son of Taromos "
(27ra'A,A:«9 Tapouov i]kio) in the cella of Osiris, or the Makedonian
Ammadiskos the son of Lautos {'AjufidSidKo^ AavTo MaKecivv) in
the same cella,* or the strange name 'OvSBa^dvio^ (on the wall of
the exterior court), or the stranger names of Aeio/nvaeiv, Apwrwi',
AovSovTTrp, Aepffoi-, Hevrtjaisi 'ApTWTOV, Tlvt'ovr]^ 'ETaw and ^vppeptt)\jr
Teve/ifiov in the Couloir des Rois, along with the two puzzling in-
scriptions HBBAA EFKYPE IflGAGIN and Ua^paKevKUKo.
Others again afford us an insight into the manners of the visitors
to the shrine who do not always seem to have been inspired with
the religious reverence befitting so sacred a place. In the cella
of Isis, for example, we have the following curious record : ^iKavtop
7]Kw fieff 'WpaKKews [a]/31'7X''t( Cos juedvwv, " I Nikanor am couie with
Heraklea Drynkhitis, drunk;" and in the Couloir des Rois a pilgrim
has written : Aavat\' KaWi'au [/jo']^wi/ . ' \aTe(f)av6inTo\i^ }i.vict'a, ws 6oKe7,
fiiKKvXiwu, " Danais is fairer than roses ; Astephanoppolis of Knidos,
it seems, is too small." Hard by we have a worthier scribble
from the hand of one whose name perhaps indicates his Boeotian
or Kretan origin : QevCwpo9 'EXauov yXOe kxI Tevt'cua ijv i(pl\ei,
" Theudoros the son of Helanos came (here) and Gennaia whom
he used to love."
It would be tedious and unprofitable to give any further examples
of Greek vanity and trifling. The Greek of the Ptolemaic and
Roman eras was as fond of defacing the walls of the ancient
monuments he visited as the tourist of to-day, and age has given
him an excuse for his vandalism which the modern tourist does
* In the cella of Isis we have Af/riAoy Kpi'iQ »;/cw, and in the court 'NiKpwv
KvriXov KpiiQ ' 'Aiaioirug Kp>)t,'. In the Couloir des Rois occurs the name of
Aftvte Kp>/f. On the first column of the exterior court we find MiKvWog
MiKvWov MaKi^uiv,
May i] society OF P.IBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
not possess. Of the graffiti that are still legible at Abydos I do
not think that I have left any for future travellers to glean. But it
is necessary to see them on the spot in order to realize how
numerous they are, and how completely the walls of the old
temple are covered by them. They prove to us two facts : first
of all, how large was the number of foreigners who visited Upper
Egypt, and turned aside to the oracle of Abydos during the nine
centuries that elapsed between the first and the last of them ; and
secondly, that a knowledge of writing must have been as widely
spread — if indeed it was not more widely spread — among the
citizens of the old classical world as it is among us of to-day.
Note. — I cannot help feeling that some explanation is due with
regard to two notes to one of the papers printed in the March
Froceedifigs. I can only assure the authors referred to, that in the
hurry of going to press, the objectionable references escaped my
notice. As such remarks are not permissible in the publications
of this Society, or those of any other learned bod}', had I observed
them, they certainly would have been removed.
V\\ Harry Rvlands,
Secretary.
The next Meeting of the Society will be held at 9,
Conduit Street, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesday 5th June,
1888, at 8 p.m., when the following Papers will be read : —
I. — Prof. E. Amelineau : — "Les Actes Coptes du Martyre de
St. Polycarpe."
II. — Dr. Bezold : — " Remarks on some unpublished Cuneiform
Syllabaries, with respect to Prayers and Incantations, written
in interlinear form."
III. — Rev. C. J. Ball : — " The Linguistic Affinities of the
Khetta-Hattc."
388
May I] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iSSS.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE
LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY.
BOTTA, Monuments de Ninive. 5 vols., folio. 1847-1850.
Place, Ninive et I'Assyrie, 1866-1S69. 3 vols., folio.
Brugsch-Bey, Geographische Inschriften Altaeg}'ptische Denkmaeler. Vols.
I— III (Brugsch).
Recueil de Monuments Egj'ptiens, copies sur lieux et publics par H.
Brugsch et J. Dlimichen. (4 vols., and the text by Diimichen
of vols. 3 and 4.)
DuMlCHEN, Historische Inschriften, &c., ist series, 1867.
2nd series, 1869.
Altaegyptische Kalender-Inschriften, 1886.
Tempel-Inschriften, 1862. 2 vols., folio.
GOLENISCHEFF, Die Mettemichstele. Folio, 1877.
Lepsius, Nubian Grammar, &c., 1S80.
De Roug^., Etudes Egj-ptologiques. 13 vols., complete to 1880.
Wright, Arabic Grammar and Chrestomathy.
Schroeder, Die Phonizische Sprache.
Haupt, Die Sumerischen Familiengesetze.
Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament. 1872.
Rawlinson, Canon, 6th Ancient Monarchy.
BuRKHARDT, Eastern Travels.
Wilkinson, Materia Hieroglyphica. Malta, 1824-30. {Text only.)
Chabas, Melanges Egyptologiques. Series I, III. 1862-1873.
Le Calendrier des Jours Fastes et Nefastes de I'annee Egj-ptienne. 8vo. 1877.
E. Gayet, Steles de la XII dynastie au Musee du Louvre.
Ledrain, Les Monuments Egyptiens de la Bibliotheque Nationale.
Nos. I, 2, 3, Memoires de la Mission Archeologique Fran9ais au Caire.
Sarzec, Decouvertes en Chaldee.
Lefebure, Les Hypogees Royaux de Thebes.
Sainte Marie, Mission a Carthage.
GuiMET, Annales du Musee Gumiet. Memoires d'Eg3'ptologie.
Lefebure, Le Mythe Osirien. 2nd partie. "Osiris."
Lepsius, Les Metaux dans les Inscriptions Egyptiennes, avec notes par W. Berend.
D. G. Lyon, An Assyrian Manual.
A. Amiaud and L. Mechineau, Tableau Compare des Ecritures Babyloniennes
et Assyriennes.
Erman, Aeg}'pten u. Ag}-ptisches Leben im Altertum.
2 parts, Mittheilungen aus der Sammlung der Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer.
RoBlOU, Croyances de I'Egj'pte a I'epoque des Pyramides.
Recherches sur le Calendrier en Egypte et sur le chronologic des Lagides.
POGNON, Les Inscriptions Babyloniennes du Wadi Brissa.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHiEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
XLbc 3vonsc ©niaments of tbe
lp>alace (3ates from Balawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, II, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordance with the terms of the original pros])ectus, the price for
each part is now raised to ;^i los. ; to Members of the Society (the original
price) £1 IS.
Society of Biblical Archaeology
COUNCIL, 1888.
President : —
P. i.E Page Renoui',
Vice-Presiileiits :-
Ri:v. Frederick Charles Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.
Lord Halsi'.ury, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., &c.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. La yard, G.C.B., &c.
The Right Rev. J. R. Ligiitfoot, D.D., &c., Bishop of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Ban., D.C.L., .M.D., «S:c., &c.
J. Manship Norman, ALA.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbiny.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., P\R.S., &c.
Very Rev. Rohert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury.
Cotmeil : — ■
W. A. Tyssen Amherst, ]\LP., &c. : 1\ev. Albert Lowy.
Rev. Charles James Ball. Rev. James Marshall.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A. V. D. Mocatia.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. Alexander Peckover, K.S.A.
Arthur Gates. J. Pollard.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, D.I). F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
Thomas Christy, F.L.S. E. Towry Whyte, M.A.
Charles Harrison, F.S.A. Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
llonorary 'J'reasiirer— IJernakd T. ]!osAN(^UE'i'.
Seeretary — W. Harrv Ryla.nds, F.S.A.
Honorary Secretary for Foreign Correspondence — Prof. .\. H. S.wiJK, M.A.
Honorary Librarian — Wn.LlAM Simi"^<in'. 1<\R.G.S.
HAI;l(lSl>N AND S(1NS. rlvIK'll-KS IN ijK|i|N/K\ 'I ( i 1 1 (■ K V. .\\\---\\ . -.1. MAK'IINS lANK
VOL. X. Part 8.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OK
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
VOL, X. EIGHTEENTH SESSION.
Seventh Meeting, ^th June, 1888.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Prof. E. Amelineau. — Les Actes copies du martyre de St. Polycarpe 391-417
Dr. C. Bezold. — Remarks on some unpublished Cuneiform Syllabaries, with
respect to Prayers and Incantations, written in interlinear form (4 Plates)... 418-423
Rev. C. J. Ball. — Iranian Names among the Hetta-Hatte 424-436
Rev. C. J. Ball. — New Readings of the Hieroglyphs from Northern Sj'ria 437-449
Brugsch-Bey. — The Word Seb or Keb 450, 451
Major Arthur H. Bagnold, R.E. — Account of the manner in which two
Colossal Statues of Rameses II at Memphis were raised (5 Plates) 452-463
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. — On a Babylonian Weight with a Trilingual
Inscription 464-466
Max MiJLLER. — A Contribution to Exodus Geography 467-477
B. T. A. EvETTS. — An Assyrian Religious Te.xt (2 Plates) 478
Miss Simcox. — Egyptian and Basque Marriage Contracts 479-487
Prof. A. H. Sayce. — Babylonian Tablets from Tel El-Aniarna, Upper Egypt... 488-525
Theo. G. Pinches. — A Babylonian Tablet {Plate) 526-529
Karl Piehl. — Textes figyptiens inedits 530-539
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A. — On Cuneiform Despatches from Tushratta, King
of Mitanni, Burraburiyash the son of Kuri-Galzu, and the King of Alashiya
to Amenophis III, King » of Egypt, and on the Cuneiform Tablets from
Tell el Amarna. (9 Plates) 540-569
W. H. RvL.\NDS {Secretary). — Egj'ptian Ornament of Ivory in the British
Museum {Plate) 570
€6&
PUBLISHED AT
THE OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY,
II, Hart Street, Bloomsburv, W.C.
1888.
[No. LXXVII.]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
II, Hart Street, Bloomsburv, W.C.
PRICE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND
PROCEEDINGS.
Vol.
Vol.
To Members.
To Non-
Members
.f.
d.
s. d.
I, Part I
lO
6
12 6
I, ,
2
lO
6
12 6
n, ,
, I
S
0
10 6
n, ,
, 2
8
0
10 6
ill, ,
, I
8
0
10 6
III, ,
, 2
8
0
10 6
IV, ,
, I
10
6
12 6
IV, ,
) 2
lO
6
12 6
V, ,
, I
12
6
15 0
V, ,
, 2
lO
6
12 6
VI, ,
, I
lO
6
12 6
VI, ,
, 2
lO
6
12 6
VII, ,
, I
7
6
10 6
VII, ,
, 2
lO
6
12 6
VII, ,
5 3
lO
6
12 6
VIII, ,
, I
TO
6
12 6
VIII, ,
5 2
lO
6
12 6
VIII, ,
> 5
lO
6
12 6
IX, ,
, I
lO
6
12 6
PROCEEDINGS.
I, S£
ssion
1878-79 ... 2
0
26
11,
1879-80 ... 2
0
26
III,
1880-81 ... 4
0
5 0
IV,
1881-82 ... 4
0
5 0
V,
1882-83 ••■ 4
0
5 0
VI,
1883-S4 ... 5
0
•
6 0
VII,
1884-85 ... 5
0 v..
60
VIII,
1S85-86 ... 5
0
6 0
IX,
18S6-87 ... 2
0 per Tart
2 6
X,
1887-88 ... 2
0 ,, ,,
26
A few complete sets of the Transactions still remain for sale, which may be
obtained on application to the Secretary, W. II. Rylands, F.S.A., 11, Hart
Street, Bloomsbury, W.C.
NOTICE.
Members are advised not to bind Vol. X. of the
PROCEEDINGS at present, as the Title, Table of Con-
tents, &c., will be issued before the close of the year.
W. HARRY RYLANDS,
Secretary.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE SOCIETY
OF
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
EIGHTEENTH SESSION, 1887-88.
Seventh Meeting, t^th Jinie, 1888.
P. LE PAGE RENOUF, Esq., President.
IN THE CHAIR.
-^^e'v#>-
The following Presents were announced, and thanks
ordered to be returned to the Donors : —
From the Editor : — ^The Teaching of the Apostles newly edited,
with fac-simile text and a commentary, for the Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, from the MS. of the Holy Sepulchre,
(Convent of the Greek Church), Jerusalem, by J. Rendel
Harris. London. Baltimore. 4to. 1887.
From the Author : — Die Kafa-sprache in Nordost- Africa. I.
Von Leo Reinisch. Wien, 1888. 8vo.
Aus dem Jahrgange 1888 der S. phil-hist Classe der Kais.
Akad. der Wissenschaften (CXVI, i Heft, S. 53).
From the Author : — The Old Babylonian Characters and their
Chinese Derivates. Babylonia and China. By Dr. Terrien de
Lacouperie. 1888. 410.
Reprinted from the B. and O. Record.
[No. LXXVII.] 389 2 I
JLNE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILKOLOGY. [1SS8.
From Dr. Haupt : — On a Study-collection of Casts of Assyrian
and Babylonian Antiquities in the Nat. Mus. at Washington.
By Dr. Cyrus Adler. Together with an Announcement of a
New Assyrian-English Glossary, presented on behalf of the
Semitic Seminary of the Johns Hopkins University by Mr.
Edgar P. Allen. 8vo.
Reprinted from the Journ. Amer. Oriental Soc. Vol. XIII.
Oct., 1887.
From F. LI. Griffith :— A Season in Egypt, 1887. By W. j\I.
Flinders Petrie. London, 4to. 1888.
Rudolph E. Briinnow, 25, Montague Place, Rus.scll Square,
W.C, was nominated, and by special order of the Council,
submitted for election, and elected a Member of this
Society.
The following were submitted for election, having been
nominated on May i, iS88:^ — ■
Rev. Frederic Howlett, U.A., F.R.A.S., East Tisted Rectory,
Alton, Hants.
Miss Kennedy, 4, West Cedar Street, Boston, U.S.A.
Rev. J. H. Champion McGill, M.A., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
The Hon. Miss Plunket, 19, Pembroke Gardens, Kensington, W.
A Paper by Prof. E. Amelineau was read, " Les Actes
Coptes du Martyre de St. Poljxarpe."
A Paper was read by Dr. C. Bczold, " Remarks on some
unpublished Cuneiform Syllabaries, with respect to Prayers
and Incantations, written in interlinear form."
A Paper was read by Rev. C. J. Ball, "The Hetta-Hat.te
and their Allies."
39P
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1SS8.
LES ACTES COPTES DU MARTYRE DE ST. POLYCARPE.
Par E. Amelineau.
L'examen approfondi auquel je me livre des monuments qui
nous sont parvenus de la litterature copte, m'a montre que les
Chretiens de la vallee du Nil se sont surtout occupes de leurs
propres affaires, qu'ils ont un peu neglige les grandcs oeuvres du
genie grec et les monuments appartenant aux deux premiers
siecles de I'Eglise chretienne. En effet la grande majorite des
ouvrages qui composent cette litterature a trait a des histoires
ou a des oeuvres purement locales et egyptiennes, ceuvres liturgiques
de toute forme, vies des moines, actes des martyrs, recits fabuleux
sans aucun fond de realite, oeuvres poetiques, discours et homelies,
etc. A cette premiere categoric si Ton ajoute les nombreux manu-
scrits qui nous ont conserve les multiples versions de I'Ecriture*
et les fragments des apocryphes, il ne reste plus qu'un nombre
tres restreint d'ceuvres empruntees aux pays yoisins, Grece et
Syrie.
Quoique le grec fut d'un grand usage en Egypte, les vies des
moines prouvent avec une grande abondance de details que le
peuple etait reste uniquement attache a la langue nationale. Sans
doute, alors, comme de nos jours, les habitants des villes depuis
le plus petit anier jusqu'au guide de profession, devaient avoir
Tusage courant d'un certain nombre de locutions et de phrases
grecques, sans lesquelles ils n'auraient pu se rendre utiles aux
etrangers domicilies en Egypte et aux voyageurs de passage, ni
par consequent se procurer les pieces d'argent qu'ils preferent
a toute autre chose sur terre ; mais dans les campagnes du Delta,
dans la moyenne Egypte, et surtout dans la haute Egypte, le grec
n'etait compris que par un nombre infime de gens riches et instruits.
Dans le grand monasiere pakhomien les freres grecs etaient a part ;
il y avait des interpretes pour les rapports necessaires et Ton tra-
duisait en grec les oeuvres coptes. Les patriarches d'Alexandrie
* II y a au moins trois de ces versions, la memphitique, la thebaine, et la
baschmourique. Je suis persuade, et je le prouverai^ je crois, qu'il y eut plusieurs
versions en chaque dialecte.
391 2 12
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
etaient obliges de faire traduire en copte les encycliques pascales
qu'ils composaient en grec. Pour cette raison un certain nombre
des oeuvres archiepiscopales des grands patriarcbes d'Alexandrie
nous ont ete conservees en copte.
On aurait pu s'attendre a trouver dans la litterature copte un
nombre assez grand d'oeuvres grecques, et moi-meme en commencant
d etudier cette litterature, je caressais le secret espoir de retrouver
quelque fameux ouvrage grec aujourd'hui perdu, en particulier
Tcfiuvre de Manethon, je I'avoue en toute sincerite. II m'a fallu
en rabattre. Les Coptes ont ete jiarticularistes et exclusifs. Leurs
ancetres n'avaient jamais eu grand gout pour les productions
etrangeres ; il sont bien en cela les fils de leurs peres et des peres
de leurs peres. Rien n'a jamais valu a leurs yeux, meme aujourd'hui,
I'Egypte et la langue de rEgyi)te. A part quelques recettes magiques
et medicales, leur litterature n'offre que des oeuvres chretiennes,
gnostiques, orthodoxes, ou schismatiques, pour employer le langage
de notre Occident. II ne faut pas sortir de la. Au fond, comme
les documents le montrent, ce ne fut que la basse classe qui se
convertit avec enthousiasme au Christianisme, presque tout d'un
coup, et sans doute les derniers ordres du sacerdoce ^gyptien.
Les Grecs et les hautes classes egyptiennes resisterent jusqu'au
cinquieme siecle et peut-etre plus longtemps encore. L'annee qui
preceda le Concile de Chalcedoine, on offrait encore des sacrifices
paiens prbs de la ville d'Antseopolis,* c'est-a-dire en 450. Le culte
d'Isis continua de se celebrer a Philee longtemps aprbs que le
C'hristianisme etait devenu la religion officielle de I'Egypte.
La consequence en fut que les monasteres se peuplerent de
petites gens, petits marchands, fellahs ou scribes de minime im-
portance. Or c'est dans les monasteres et par le clerg^ de
quelques villes, (Alexandrie exceptee, car elle resta grecque), que
furent ecrites les oeuvres qui nous sont parvenues. Malgre I'en-
seignement prealable qu'on donnait aux moines et aux pretres,t
on ne peut attendre grande science ni grande habilete de pareils
auteurs, ni surtout grande largeur d'idees ou envie de connaitre les
CJtiuvres des autres litteratures chretiennes.
* Cf. Rcvilloul : Mciiioire sur les Blcnimyes, passim. E. Amclineau, Monu-
ments pour servir h I'histoire de F Eg)pte chrelienne aux IV' et V sO^c/es,
p. no — 118. Les moines Egypticns : I. Histoire de Sc/uioudi, ^t. 330 — 350.
t Les textes coptes sont formels sur cc point.
392
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S8S.
Aussi le nombre des oeuvres grecques ou syriaques traduites
en copte est-il tres petit. Ces traductions comprennent les oeuvres
de St. Cyrille, de St. Jean Chrysostome, quelques fragments des
oeuvres de St. Athanase, de St. Gregoire de Nazianze, de St. Basile,
de St. Gregoire de Nysse, de St. Epiphane, de St. Cyrille de
Jerusalem, et de St. Severe d'Antioche. II faut ajouter a ces noms
celui de St. Ephrem. Le manuscrit de Lord Zouche, sur lequel
j'ai dernierement appele I'attention, contient d'autres fragments,
mais en tres petit nombre.* Je suis assez porte a y ajouter les
oeuvres de certains auteurs comme St. Jean Climaque, St. Jacques,
de Nisibe, et de Jacques de Saroug, car les moines coptes les
lisent encore, et il est bien improbable que ces oeuvres aient ete
traduites en arabe avant d'avoir passe par une traduction copte.
De monuments antiques du Christianisme il n'en faut chercher
aucun, si Ton excepte les Lettres et le Martyre de St. Ignace
d'Antioche, ainsi que le Martyre de St. Polycarpe.f
Quand je parle de traductions, il faut s'entendre et ne pas
comprendre ce que nous comprenons d'ordinaire sous ce nom ; les
traductions coptes ne ressemblent que de fort loin a I'original traduit.
Les oeuvres de St. Jean Chrysostome en particulier ont regu une
forme toute nouvelle, soit du traducteur, soit des copistes. Ces
changements sont pousses a un tel point que I'authenticite disparait.
II faut faire exception pour les Lettres et le Martyre de St Ignace,
et le Martyre de St. Polycarpe. Evidement pour ce dernier, le
traducteur a suivi mot-a-mot le texte grec qu'il avait sous les yeux,
et 11 I'a bien traduit. Est-ce a dire cependant que la version que je
public anjourd'hui ne dilTere point de I'original grec? on en jugera
* Depuis que j'ai attire I'attention sur ce MS., un de mes amis m'a signale le
fait que M. Lagarde avait public le texte a Gottingen en 1886, sous le litre,
CatciicB in Evaugclia agyptiacce qtia: supersiint. J'ignorais le fait. Cette publi-
cation n'infirme d'ailleurs en rien mes conclusions qui ressortent avant tout de
I'examen du manuscrit lui meme. D'ailleurs une semblable publication, sans
traduction, ne peut etre profitable qu'a un nombre tres restreint de lecteurs,
a condition qu'ils possedent la langue copte a un degre assez eleve. Ces lecteurs
peuvent bien monier au nombre de quinze ou de vingt en Europe. Ceux qui
etudient rhistoire des dogmes Chretiens, du developpement du Christianisme et la
Patristique sont autrement nombreux, et par consequent la publication serait
toujours importante.
t Les lettres et le martyre de St. Ignace ont ete publics par M. Le Page
Renouf dans " Lightfoot," Apostolic Fathers.
393
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1S8S.
plus loin. I\L Dressel* et tout dernicrement M. Jahnt ont public
les Actes grecs de ce martyre, c'est-a-dire la lettre de I'eglise dc
Smyrne, apres les nombreux travaux qui avaient precede ; on
pourra comparer la version copte avec le texte grec, et je ferai res-
sortir moi-mcme toutes les differences qu'on y trouve. Le document
grec, toute le monde I'admet, est certainement des plus anciens :
j'ajoute que la version copte est aussi fort ancienne, comme le
montrent certaines formes emi)loyees.
Je publie le texte tel qu'il est contenu dans le MSS. du Vatican,
Copte 66 ; sans correction dans le texte, me contentant d'indiquer
les formes abusives, et d'en corriger quelques unes en note quand
elles sont trop grossieres.
i
(-prti^) c^JUL.Lpx'ifpoXovion JULc^H eoot^>.^ nenicKo-
noc OTO^ JULJUL^-pT-VpOC HTG njQc ^.£.^^.
noXiKA-piToc (-svV) 4)juLi.eHT"Hc rtni^-nocToXoc
eT"^-qxoKcj e^oX juLni<LKoT- julsx^P- ^e«
T. -f eKJ<XHci<L rtxe ^Tf eT'^ert cJULTpn^. ecc^A.i
rti^K^-ooXiKH neKKXHciz. eooti^^ eT"cyon ^ert (^\-
XojulhX^ (sir) 4)rtA.i nejuL -f^HpHrtn (sir) neJUL 'f^^-
v<i.nH rtT"e ^f c{)ia3X JULnenoc ikc n^c eTe^,aji.i
ncoxen. ^"e^c^^,I ituoxert nicnnoY ertx^-iULo
jULJULOJxen ee^e hh ex^-TCp JULA-pTTpoc onro^^
niJUL<*.K^,pioc noXiK^-puoc c{)^.I e'T2,q;^a3ni juljul^-oh-
THc nni^^nocToXoc e^LqjULo^i rtejUL otjulhoj ex^.T-
n<i.T enoc <^^.i exz-Tx^ejutcoq nenicKonoc ^en
'f^-CI^. exeit 'feKKXH-(-prtS-)ci^- e^^en cjULifpn^-.
^.nort oit ex^.rtrt^.T epoq ^ert TertJULexKovxi
* Patnim apostolicoruni opera. Lip.si;!;, 1870.
t PatruDi apostoliconim opera de Gcljhardl, Harnack et Jahn. Tome IT.
Lipsiae, 1876.
t Lisez : eT^qXOKq. Le suffixe du fcininin csl fautif puisque I'article
masculin precede JUL^.pX'JfpoXoVIOri.
394
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
rte^-qoucK r^.p ne o-ro^ rteA.qep ^eXXo eAJL^Lcyo?
eqi~ c^cw rtcHOT niE.ert eitH eTT^^qcTi c^o) epcuo-r
eKoX^ixoxoT rtItI^,^oc^"oXoc en^^^e 2ie ^.qxcuK
e£.oX JULneqEiioc ^eit oTiULexJULi.px'rpoc ecAJie^
ituoonr oTo^^ ecep oTuomi oto^, ex^-qepe ni2^iuov-
jULoc ^epi ^wc icxeK eTA.qx(JoE. epwq ^ixeri ireq-
JUL^,px'ypI^..
II. rte^.Tep JUL^.pxTpoc y^^p ^^^xo3^ ne itxe
oTJULHcy eqocy rt^-i eT-^.TOTtJon£, e^oX rtoTnioj-f
rt^nfuojuLortH e^onrrt e^I£.^-c^-rtoc ^i. nxc ^a3C2.e
rtxe rtH exo^i ep^-xoT juLuoTKcw'f" eTepeeuopirt
JULJULOJOT ep cyc{)HpL ^^.n con JULen eTg^c^Ki nrtoT-
<^^PX ffl^ e^onrrt ertoTitenfpon ^0302^.6 nxe nonr-
JU-^^T" eTCi-^oTft nejUL rtoxJULcXoc (TTjopn eS.oX
^A.rt con 2.6 on eTc^uopcij ^^.pcooT n^^.n oE.oXickoc
it^enmi eTXHp (-pnr-) e^"ep^^-c^-nI^m juljulcwo-*-
£^ixen 12.0C niB.en npeqepKoXi.^m en^^.e ag nce-
THixov nnioHpion eepoTOTOJUioT.
III. n^oto 2^e nirenneoc vepJUL^.nIKoc ex^-q-
epK^,T"^-4>ponm n-fjuLCTxcw^ nxe niccojuL^. ^.qt"
juLneqoToi ec^JULoT ^ixen ni^iULOT m~e 4*T eps
ni^-nevn^.T'oc vz~p o-^cooj eecT neq^^HX oto^^
eqi" Xcjuixi n^.q ee^e xeq^fXiKi^. ne oT^-Xo'r v^-p
ne nKepi eJUL^^ojco. neqi"^o epoq eqxco ajlajloc xs
cyen g^mr ^A.poK JULJULin juljulok nooq -^e JULneq-
onfojoj <lXX^. <*^qi~ JULneqonroi ^en onrpo^onfTq ^.q-
cojK extjoq nnioHpion nxonc eqi~ xconx ntjoo'*'
eqajonojeK juljulcjoot e^ovn epoq JULJULin JULJULoq
eoponfonfojuLq xe ^in^. nxeqep eE.oX en^LiKioc
np3q(5^ nxonc oto^ n^-nojuioc. eT^^r"' niJULHcy 2^e
ep cynHpi nojuLexxojpi jm.niJUL^.pT'Tpoc JULJULi.1
* Lisez: GT^. niJULHCtJ.
395
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [188^:.
nonff itejUL -f^pexH ivre irrertoc T"Hpq rtrtixpnc-
Tii-rtoc (-pri^-) ^.Tcp ^HTc naocy e£.oX xe ^-Xioti
eE.oX^en oJULni" nn^-i^.enoifi- exe nixpHcxiA-itoc
ite oTo^j nexojQT xe juL^-poTKuoi" ^c^. noXiKZ-pnoc.
IV. Q-jfo^ eT"^. oTitioj-f ncyeopTep cguoni eeE.e
iticjULH eTocy ^. ot^-i eneqp^.n ne Kom eonrc^pi^ ne
^eit neqreitoc 4)^.1 ex^-qi JUL£.epi eE.oX^eri ^f-
4)p'cvi^- 4>^i 2^e ^.qi" JULneqoToi e^o-rrt eni2^iK^.cXH-
pion neJUL TonfJULeTZ-vpioc ^ert nxmepe Teq-
ilrnrX^ ep xooK nxeqep ^o^ en^^.e ^.qxooX eE^oX
jULReqo-sfx^-i ci>^-I 2^e JULn^-ipHi" ^.nfon^^q'" n^it e-
^oX^JTeit 'f gtiicxoXh exA.rtep cyopu nc^.xi epoc
xe e^"^-q^ JULneqoToi eni2^iJ<^.cT-Hpion ^eit o-rjuLeT
nponexHc oto^ ^en of^jO-f ^.n nxe $^ ^-XX<L
oJULoiuoc eT"^.q^ei ^,qx^ noTJULHim eqoTon^ eE.oX
no-rort niB.eri xe nexccye A.n ne nxe ^Xi epToX-
(-prte-)juLA.n e^;^.^^^HO')fI juLn^-ipni" ^ert otjulg-
T^-^"^oi".
V. noXiK^-pnoc 2^e nicycJ)Hpi ncgopu XKen eT^-q-
cojxeJUL xe ccKCJui" nctjoq ^^-qcyo^ ne ^ert ot-
jULeT^-Tcyeopxep oto^ ^^.q^.pe^ eneq^HT ^eit
onfuopq neJUL otxx.e^^JTKiJtjL. n^,qoTa3cy 2^e eo£,i
^en 'f noXic nicitHOT 2^e eTe JULneqKuo'f z.-jff^o
epoq eopeqctje e£.oX^en -f noXic onro^, e^"^-qee^"
noT^HT ^qcye e^oX eoTKoi eE-oX ni^noXict (s/c)
^.qo^I JULJUL^,T ^^,^ Kex^o'^r^^t r^^^P ^'^J n^^cu^
^-rt enxKpq ^,XX^. JULnie^ooT rtejUL niexcop^ ^^.q-
* Lisez : ^'JfOTOrtP.q- Quand deux lettres ou deux series de mSmes
lettres se suivent, les scribes en omettent souvent une ; les scribes pharaoniques
faisaient de meme.
t Lisez: ejS.oX^ert -fnoXic.
: II faut ajouter ItCJUL et lire : ^.qO^I JULJUL^.'^f fteJUL ^^-ft
Ke^)([]U0O'ym. Sans cela, il n'y a pas de sens possible.
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
jULHrt JULJULi.T<LT-q ne eiticy^HX juluoc n^-i eTreqi"
^o n^HTOT ovo^^ eqxtjo^^ eqepeT"in itoT^ipHnn
nitieKKXHci^. eT^en ^oiKOTJULenn THpc ite -req-
cT^KeI^. v^-p xe e^.i itcHonr rtsKert. ^^- t^h 2.e
itv ne^ooT JUL^^,^-o'Jfx^.2>oq ^- o'r2^op^.JL«.^. 6lj:>pn
n^.q e£.oX JULiriexcopg^ eqcyXuX icxeK it^-qn^LT e-
neq^^oc (-prK^-) eT^ixuoq e^.qpaoK^ ^i onfcou jul-
n^-ipK-f ^cjoc eT^-qpuoKg, ^iTert ovxP^aa-- oto^
eT"<Lqxuortq ^eit otx^uSXexfL ^-qxa3 JULni6^pn
eE.oX nrtH eT^i-Toxq eqep ctjop^ itepcTruu-enm
(^f/V)'"' ncooT jul4)h e-rn^-ctjconi JULiULoq oto^ eT^-q-
T-A.JULO JULJULUOOT ^eit OTT^-XpO XG ^OJ-f HG UTeq-
xcoK Jw.neqE.ioc e^-oX^iT-ert onrxp^-"- eeE.e nxc.
YI. eT-^-TJULonrn 2^e eE.oX enrKuo-f ncuoq ^en
cnonf2^H niEert ^.T^^Tq rtxortc on eE.oX g^*^ ^"2^1^.-
eecic tvre iticrtHOT eeB.e rotjulci e^oTit epoq
^.qo'rcoxeB. eniJUL^.. eTi. itH eT-Kuo-f itcojq i epoq
^ert oTX^^^J^ onfo^ e^"^.T^.JUL^,2^I nS HKonrxi
n^.XoT ^en niJULi. exejutiUL^-T ^.'JfepE^-c^,It^^I^
jULJULcoov cij^.T-o')f(5^xoT euiJUL^. exe noXiK^-pnoc
n^HT-q.
VII. JUL4)rt^-T 2^e rt^^. rt^. poTg^i ^'vi eg^pHi
exojq ^.nfxejuLq ^ixen iixertec^cjop oto^^ ne oTort
ojxoJUL JULJULoq ne eepeqonfcoT-eE eE_oX^en (-prt^-)
niJULi, exeJULJUL^.T eKCHi ^.XX^, JULneqoTcocy ei-qxoc
xe JUL^-pe 4)OTcocy juluoc cyuoni. onrog^ ex^.qeJU-1
xe ^.Ti ^ipen 4>po julttihi K^.T^- ^pH-f e-re nic^.xi
T"^.JULo JULitsLort ^.qI enecHT ajA-puooT ^.qc^-Xi rie-
JULcooT ^en ot^o eqpcooTX rtpeJUL p^Tcy ejULi.aja3
* Ce mot grec est assez defigure : on I'ecrit habituellement CTJULeitin
et quelquefois CCJULJULenirt. Ici le scribe a mis un ft pour le premier JUL.
C'est le verbe grec atmaivw.
397
JuxE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iSSS.
^(mc:k€ nceep cy4>Hpi nxe rtH eT-encectAJonrn JULiULoq
^.n ^^. x^H nc^.q neJUL v jul4>oot eTxoTcyx rtc^.
OAxexnicLjf itxe T-eq^vXiKi^. iteiUL TeqjuLexcejui-
noc rtcAX t-k^.t-^-cx^.cic jutneq^o enrzco juljuloc ze
OT xe x^-iiticy-f- ncno'jf2.H eeponrKuo-f nc^. o-y^eX-
Xo x^-n^-ipH-f. neoq 2ve ^.^E.^. noXiK^.pnoc ^.qo'y-
^&c^.^rti ^en otiojc eopo-rxco ^^-pa)OT no-y-
xp^-uer^ ix^. ^-qt^^o epcooT eeponffTi e^oX^eit
oTxpoci)K. AxenencA. n^.i ^.qepexm juljulcjoot e-
eponrx^-q nxeqajXuX n^. ncy^.v rtoTOTnoT oto^,
ex^-^fx^q ^-qTOjnq ^.qojXHX eqjuLe^ e^oX^eit
ni^Axox nxe noc (-prtn-) ^0002^6 oy jutonon e-
opoTcp cy^Hpi nxe na ex^^.xoxq CTccoxejUL epoq
eqcLjXHX ^.XX^. ^A.rt ovort eE^oXn^nxo-y ^.TepJULe-
x^,rtom eo^e xe cenz-^ojxeE. Jutni-i^eXXo jul-
^^.IpH'f rtcejuLnoit exorti jut^rf .
VIII. niiA^.K^,pioc 2ie noXiK^-pnoc ex^-qxeK
neqcyXnX eE.oX ^.qep 4>JULeYi noTort iti^ert neJUL
nn ex^-')^epA.^^.^x^-rt epoq XKpoT niKo-yxi iteju.
nmicy-f nip^.Ai.^.oi nejuL ni^HKi oto^ -fK^-ooXiKH
neKKXHCI^. expert -foiKo-yjuLenn xapc. ex^. -fo-y-
noT 2^e cLjojni eepeqi e^oX ^.TXA.Xoq eo-^icu
^-'^fe^q e^ovrt e-f noXic ite ninicy^ 2^e rtcA.^^^.-
xon ne nie^^ooT exejuLJULi.T. oto^ ^,qepi.n^.rt-
x^.rt epoq itxe HpaD2^.Hc nipHn^.pxHc nejuL rtiKTXHc
uic) neqiojx n^-i ^.-rxA-Xoq exert o-r^.^.pJUL^. ee-
peq^^GAXci ^i-xoxoT rt^-vf- ^o epoq ne eTxcu
AxiAoc xe OT v^-p ne ninex^coT eopeicxoc xe
noc Kec^.p oto^, nxeKep e-rci^. nxeKonrxA-i. (-prie-)
neoq 2^e A.qa:cy eE.oX eqxo? juljuloc xe ni^cjujS, epe-
xenepofAxELonrXeTin nm epoq nnecojcjoni juljuloi
eneg, eepi^,iq. nouooT 2^e exejULnoTojoex neq-
^Hx ^.TX^.oTo ^2,^.n c^.xi e'^f^^.clJx e^ovn e^p^.q
398
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
oTo^ .LTcoKq enecKT ^i ni^z^pAHi. ^en o-ynioji"
itcyeopTep ^vocT^e (sic) itce4)eX^ T"eqc|)^.T- eTini
jULJULoq enecKT. neoq 2^6 JULneqep julk^.^ n^^HT
enxHpq ^ojc icxeK juLueqcyeTT ^Xi n^ici ^.qJUL0CL5I
^£i\. oTcnonf2!^H neJUL oTpuooxxq enfcoXi juLJULoq
e^oTit enicx^-2^iort oto^ a. o-ritioj-f najGopxep
ctjcjuni ^eit nicx^.2.iort ^a3C2^e eope otjulhoj n^.'r/''
IX. epe niJUL^.K^.pioc -kg ^oXIK^.p^oc ^nk e-
^oTit enicT"^-2iiort ^. o-^cjulh ojuoni g^^^-poq e^oX^en
Tc^e xe noXiKz.pne xgjul nojuL-f oto^ nTeKTA-xpo.
Tiexc^.xi juLen AJLiie ^Xi m^x epoq -f-cJULH 2ve ^-
onfJULHoj ^ert itH eTe no-ritt cojTeAJL epoc. (-pj-)
eT"^.v(riT~q 2^e e^o-tfit ^. onfiticy-f ncyoopTep cyojni
^ert TixmeponrccoxeJUL xe A.TT"^-£,e TioXiK^.pnoc.
eT^.q'f 2^e JULneqonfoi e^o-yrt ^.qojenq nxe nz.rt-
enrn^.TToc xe rteoK ne uoXIK^-pnoc. oto^ eT~^.q-
xoc xe ^.noK ne ^.qep ^htc n-f ^o epoq eepeqxucX
e^oX eqxoj julslkoc n^.q xe cyini ^i. T"^h rtxeK-
^nrXjKiA. ojpK m-TX^<t ^lKec^.p ^-piJULeT^-nom
^.xoc xe ^.Xionf I juljulo^ot rtrti^.enoT'f eT"e itixpwc-
Ti^Lftoc ne nejuL ^^.n KeJULHcy itci,xi JULn^.ipu'f
n^.1 exe TOTCTnHeiA. Te exoTOT rtxe ^IpeqcLJ^.JLe.-
ctje ixojXon. noXiK^-piioc 2^e ^.qxuom" e^onrrt e^-
p^,q JULniJULHcy THpq eT^en Yiic'rne2^pioit ^ert
oT^o eqoKeJUL oto^^ exA-qKiJUL epcjoov nxeqxix
^.qq^.1 rtiteq^^.X enajo)! e^^e ^,qqI ^.^ojul oto^
Tiex^-q xe o) noc ^.Xioti JULJUL^-f nni^.eno'V'f rtpeq-
cyi.juLCLje i2^a3Xon. epe ni^HvejuLcon 2^e ajlhix eE.oX
* La phrase n'est pas complete ; d'apres le grec il faundrail : epOq.
Peut-etre ce membre de phrase correspondait-il aux mots grecs omis, comme
je le dis plus loin.
t Le texte me semble corrompu, ou bien la forme est inhabituelle.
: Lisez: HXTTX^ riKeC^.p, comme plus bas.
399
JuxE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [iSSS.
eqxo) JULJULoc xe (JopK(-p^-) ^irty^R HKec^Lp
riTeKcyuoaj juLnoc oto^^ 'f^^-X^K eB^oX. nex^-q
nxe IIoXIK^.p^oc xe ic n^ npojuLni cy^. 4)oot i" 01
jUL^uoK JULn^-oc iKc njQc onrog; JULneq^TiTT nxoitc
erte^ n^.cij onrrt npH-j^ ^.rtoK em^.xe ot<?>- en^^peqep
een^.neq oto^^ n^.oYpo eono£,ejuL juljuloi rtcKOT
niE.eit.
X. eT"^. ni^^HvejULcun 2^e ^ex^coxq eqxco jul-
jULoc xe uDpK nTTTXH itKec^Lp riex^.q rtxe noXi-
K^^pnoc xe icxe 4>^-I ne neKojOTajoT eopiuopK nx-
TT^H HKecA-p K^.^^^. 4>pHi^ eTeKxco juljuloc ^uoc
eKoi nrt^-Tccoonf rt '"' xe ^^l\.oK niJUL ccoxejuL ^en
onrnz-ppKci^^ ^,itoK xpKcxi^.noc r^.p. ecycon eK-
oTCJocij eejuLi nxxoiUL nnixpHCTiA.rtoc juloi nni nonr
ep,ooT m"^.T~ci,E.oK. uexe ni^-noTn^-Toc xe eex
n£^KT" rmiJULHcy. ^.qep onrcu nxe noXiKi-pnoc xe
itooK juten <Ln"A.ioK ^-Iep oyo? ^^.K ee^e xe ^^x^
cE.a) «A.rt ecThe xcjort nniA-px^ rtejUL nie^oTci^.
oTo^^ eepTiiUL^Lrt JULJULuoonr k^-T"^. (-p^E-) neTcoje
^en 4)H exe^rt^.ep^X^-m"m ^.n it^HTq n^-i 2^e
rteojoT -f xuo juljuloc xe ceJULncy^. ^.rt eep^.^oXo-
vicee ncooT enTHpq.
XI. ^.qoT^,^ T"OT"q on rtxe niA-noTTX^-Toc ne-
XA-q xe o-jfoit nxHi n^^^^rt OHpion juljul^.t eKajxejuL-
epJULex^-nom -fn^-XHiK ncooT. nex^.q rtxe noXr-
K^-pnoc xe ^.^n"o'r oTJULeT"^.T"xojuL T~e eopenoTCJo-
Te^ e^oX^err rtn eon<LrteT enn eir^uoo-x rt^.rtec
2^e rteoq eonrcwxe^ e^oX^ert rtu ex^tJooT enn
eonz,rte'r. nex^-q ort rtxe ^I^.rtoT^^.Toc xe ^.K-
cy^.rtepK^.x^-4>po^Irt rtrtiOHpiort 'f ^^-ep2^^.JUL^.^rrt jul-
JULoK ^en nixp^AJ^- nexe ^oXIK^-p^oc xe eK'f^.o
* Lisez : rtiLXCOJOTrT , il y a un ft tie trop.
400
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
•f rtHi eoT^puoJUL <^^-I ecy^,q(rpo npoc onroTrtoY qrtA-
ojcyeJUL 2^e JULertenc<L onr Konrzi j<a?i '■ rt^.T-ejULi 2^e
eni^pojjuL m"e 'f Kpicic eertAojcjoni nejuL niKoX^.cic
iteneg^ n^-i exonr^-pe^ epojoT ititi^-ce^^Hc. iJ\Xi^
OT ne exeK^ ^.otuo rt^.q ^.ItIOTI JULTIe^"eKOT^-ctJq.
XII. (-pfv-) n^-i 2^e rtejuL rtA.i Kex^o'^^i ^.q-
xoxov nxe TiijuL^.K^-pioc ^oXIK^.pKoc eqjuLe^ np^.-
cLji ^i T^-xpo it^HT" o-ro^ epe neq^o jute^ nx^P^c
^a5C2ie oTJULonort JULneqojeopTep exert rtH eTOTXco
JULJULUJOT ^^-q ^.XX^. AX^-XXort neoq ^.qope ni^-rtenf-
n^Toc xcortT". e^^^.e 2^e ^. niz.nonfn^.Toc oTUDpn
rtoTKTpi^ ^.qaocy e£-oX ^ert nicxA-xioit itr neon
xe A. noXiK^^pnoc epojuLoXonn xe ^.noK ot^Phc-
T"i^,noc. nA.1 2^e eT^-qxoT-o-r nxe niK-rpi^ ^^ ni-
JULHcy TKpq m-e ni^eXXunoc neJUL nno')f2^^.i eTojon
^en cJULTpn^. (joclj e^oX enrcon ^en oTnicg-f ncjuLH
nejuL oTxcwnT" n<LT"^JULA.^i xe 4)^.i ne nc^.^ ni" a.-
ci<L THpc ecJ)icjoT" ne nnixpHcxiA.noc onro^ eq£.a3X
eE-oX nnmonf-f eqi~cS.a) noTJULHcij eajTeJULep e*rciA-
onfo^ ecgTeJULonfcjoajT ncuoT. m,i e'rxcjo juljuloc
A.nfojaj e^oX eTcon eff ^o e<^*cXinnoc (^/V) n^-p-
yyoti ni"A.ciA. xe ^in^. m"eqx^ noTJULoxi e^^oX
enoXiKA-pnoc(-p5^-) neoq 2^e nexA,q xe cxoi nni
A.n eni2^H A.qxa)K e^oX nxe ncHOT nniK*cniJ<ion.
T"oTe A.cep2^oKin ncooT THponr ^i oTcon o-vo^
<LTaocy e^oX xe ^in^. nTOTpuoK^^ JULnoXiKA.pnoc.
ne ^cui^ r^-p ne nTeqxojK eE.oX nxe ni^opA-JULA.
exA-qonfuon^ nA-q e^oX ^en nie^ooT eTA-qn^-t
Epoq eqcgXaX ex^. neqgjE.oc pojK^ ^en onrxpfJ^-"-
OTo^ A.qKoxq eninicxoc eeneJULA.q A.qxoc nuoonr
^en oTnpo4)KTi<L xe coHcy nHi eeponfpoK£,T" eion^.
* Lisez: KOI.
401
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
XIII. 4)^.1 2^e ^.qajojni ^ixert oTrtictj-f- ncyeop-
Tep ^en nxmope niJuiHcy etjoonff e^o-rn ^ert
oTx^^eJUL rt^^-n oje neJUL ^^.rt julhoj nXe^cy e^oX
^eii niepKi,cT-Hpioit (sic) rtejuL niciuooTrti rt^^onro 2^e
rtiioT2i^.i ^ojc eTOTcvrtKei^- T"e eep2vi^.Konin ertA.i-
2,^HOTi JULU^-ipKi" ^ert onfpojoTT-q. eT-^-nfcofi^-f
•K£ n-f^^P^ ^^XJ^ e^pKi nneq^E^uoc nxe nicT-r-
Xoc n.Te ^JULsoJULHi uoXiK^-pnoc onro^ ex^.q^coX
eKoX m-eq^(JOitH (-pjf-^^'^) ^-q6lJom- on eKuoX eB.oX
jULueqecjoo-yi kgtoi re juLU^-qipi JULc^^-I ncyopu eo^e
xe cLJ^.pe 4)ot^i c^onf^,i rtrtmicT"oc icoc ncHOT itiKert
ecTo^ eneq^^B-COc le nsqcuoJUL^. ee^e TeqnoXHTiA.
Gon^,rtec ert^,qceXcuoX 7^e ort ne ^eit ^Ai.ex-
^eXXo. rt-foTrtoT 2^.6 ^.vcortg.q ^ert g,^,n opr^.-
noit rt^-i exe cy^Tco^rt^ n^HT"onf itrtH eT-oTrt<LpoK-
^OT. ex^-Ti 2s.e ort xe e')f^^.oq^-q n^^^rt iqx
nex^-q xe KHit epcoT-ert rtejuLKi JULn^^ipH't" 4)h eT-
Z-qe^,ajT- v^.p eepiJULonr ^ert nixp^-*J^ ^"-^1"
nipHi" HHi on eopIq^.I ^^-poq XI^PK^) nT"^.xpo
nnnqx.
XIV. neuooT 2.e JULUonri^ iqT" rt^-q ^.XX^. A-T-
cort^q JULJUL^.T^.^"q itooq ^coq ^.qert neqxix ^i
(^^-^o-sf JULJjJLoq eT'^.'«■cort^q 2^e JUL^ipni" nonfuoiXi
eqcoTii eTn<LT"A.Xoq e.9,pHi nov(5^XiX eqcynn julcJ)'^
JUL^m^.rtxoKp^.^-tJop ^.qonfa3It npuoq nex^-q xe 4)I(jot-
jul4)h excJUL^L.JUL^.T■ (-p^H-) neKJULertpiT ncyHpi jul-
JULortovertKc mc YvyQc nenoc 4)^,i eT"^.n6^ jULneK-
ccooTit eS-oXg^iToxq (]ff itni^-weXoc nejuL rtixoJUL
$"i~ itcajrtT" ni^ert c|ff m~e iirertoc THpq nrti2^ir<eoc
exort^ jULneKJULOo e£.oX iichot ni^ert i" cyen ^^julot
rtxoxK xe ^.K^,n" rteJULncy^, JUL^^.Ie^ooT neJUi.
T■^.IO'r^onf eopifTi ^co noYJUiepoc ^en TKni nni-
JUL^-pxnfpoc nxe n^c eepeKom- n^pKi n^^HToT
402
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
eKecyom" epoK jul4)oot jUL4)pK'^ rtonfOTci^. ecKeiti-
CDOTT" ofo^ ecajHn k^t"^, 4>pHi~ ex^-Kep cgopn
nce^TCJOTc onro^ ^.Kep cyopn noTort^c e^oX oto^
^.KXoKc e^oX cf^ juljulhi 4>h gtc JULJULort ^Xi jul-
jULeertoTX n^.cy^aom" epoq 'fcjULOT epoK 'f (Tici
JULJULOK 'f ^ tJDOT ^t^.K e^oX^ITGIt IT^-pXIGpeTC Oj^.
ene^'" nenoc mc n^cc neKAAortovertHc ncynpi jul-
jULcnpiT" (-pX^-) 4>H eT"e e^oX^ixoxq niojonf rt^.K
nejuL^-q itejuL nmHI! eeoT^.^ nejuL chov itiKert
XY. ex^.qo'JfuopTT 2^e eucgoji JULni^LJULnrt o-ffo^
eT^.qx(JDK e^oX m~eqnpoce'y^H T"oxe ^.T6^po
jULnixp^-*J^ nxe rtipuoJULi eTHU eni^poojuL o-sro^
ex^. o-yrticLj-f ncg^.^^ cyuoui ^.rtrt^-T ^.nort eonfcLjcJ)Hpi
^A. riH ex^- noc xkic rtuoo-r eepo-^n^-T rt^.i ort
eT^-T^-pe^ eptjuov eeponro^i enKeceni nnn ex^-T-
cyojui nixp^-*J^ ^^P <^qep hcjulot rtoT^xi^^^ o'ro^
o'ffX^.o'¥'o nxoi ^.eeJULe^ itOKo'rt ^.qep coB-T" en-
ccojULA. nniJUL^.pT'tfpoc j eqKCJO-f cvo^ rtA.qcyon iie
^eit ojuLui" JULUixp^-*-*- Jui.4>pHi~ ^.rt noTc^p^ et
pOJK^ JULJULOC ^.XX^. JULc|)pH-[- rtOTHOT^ HCJUL OT-
^^.^" eT4)ici JULJULoq ^srt onf^poojuL kg v^.p ^.najco-
XejuL eo-yceoi rto-tfqi JULn<LipKi~ AJLc|)pK'f rtoYXi^^.-
noc eqcLjcucy le itooq Kei2^oc eKoX^ert niceoi qi §
XVI. eTTi^^.e 2^e eT"^.nfn<LT itxe iti^.nojuLoc xe
jULiULort ajxoJUL eepe neqccoJUL^. JULovitK 2^i-(-po-)
* II faut n.iaj<L eite^ ou t- XCLJ<L ene^. La locution est prise
adjectivement.
t Le texte est corrompu : il faut lire simplement GCJULGP. au peut-etre
X Lisez : JULniJUL<i.pT''<'pOC, selon Torthographe la plus ordinaire.
• § Lisez: nicooi noTqi.
403
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [1888.
Ten Tiixp^-'^ A.qonf^.2,c<L^rtI eope ot^.i nrtiJULZ.-
Toi -f JULueqoToi epoq nxeq^eX^uoXq ^en oTcnqi
oTo^^ eTZ>.qipi jul4)^,i ^.qi e^oX nxe otjulhcij ncnoq
^coc 2^e eopeqcjocyejUL nxe ni^puojUL onro^ niJULHcy
XHpq ^.qep cy4)Hpi xe oTort oTnicyi" ncyiK't' cijon
itni^-oni-g^'f neJUL hh excoTn. ot^.i 2^e n^HTo-r
ne (^^^l eT^-qcyojiri ncy4)Hpi ^eit nencHOT (^^.i ex^.q-
cyuoni ncA-^ o'vo^ nA.nocxoXoc oto^ JULTipoc{)HT"HC
oTo^ nenicKOTioc itTe i" ka.ooXikh rteKKXHci<L THpc
ex^en cjuLTpn-i- oto^ cJ)A.i ne nipni" e^"^-qxa3K
efi-oX nT"eqjUL<LpT"Tpi^. tixe 4)H eeoT^.^ rtenicKo-
noc ^.^K^- ^oXIK^.p^loc ^en onr^ipHnH rtxe 4r[-
conf KO JULniA-E^oT jute^ip oto^ c^-XI niB.ert eT"A.nfi
e^oX^ert puoq <l'«'Xcjok e£.oX.
XVII. iii2^i^.E.oXoc JULnonHpoc (-poZ-) oto^
npeqxogj o'jfo^ ni^-riTiKnfJULenoc eT^-qeJULi eo-
JULCTrticyf nT"eqjUL<LpTTpi^. neJUL ^"eq^oXH^"I^.
icxert cyopn it^TerjoXe^ onro^ .LT-f y^Xoxa excjoq
^en niyrkoxfL rcre -f iULex^-^"^^^-Ko e^.q^'i JULHI^^.I
nTe n\6^po ^.qiHc nooq ni2^i^.KoXoc ecgTeJULOpert-
tJoXi JutneqccjojuL^. Kenep epe oTort otjulhclj epeni-
o'sfJULirt ec{)^.I eeponff^o^ eTeqc^.p^ eooT^,^ &<^n
onron JULen ^-'JfcI'f nniKT-rKc e^oTn 4)itJL5X rx^Hpoj-
2^Hc eopeqceJULni JULni^HvejULuort xe ^m^^ fitot-
cyTeJULi" rt^.rt JUL^eqca5JUL^, nex^.q r^-p xe julhro-
Te itce^enoT e£oX jul4>h e^"^-T^.cLJq enicT-^-nrpoc
nceep ^wrc 2^e on nctj^-*J^fflJ jULniKeoT^.i m^\ ^.q-
xoxov epe rl^o')f2^^.I KuoXn JuuuLoq o'ro^ enff
TZ-xpo n^HT" n^q n^i ort ex^-TApe^^ eport ectj-
TejuLopenini JULueqcuojuL^. e^oX^eit nixp^-*^^
(-poE-) e'roi n^-TccjooTrt nxe rtieE.iHit xe o'C2^e nx^
Tenn^X^^ nccoit z,n cy^. erte^ cj)^.i eT^LqJULOT
^^, Ronf2^^,I juLUiKocjuLoc THpq ot:2^e ort TeitriA.-
404
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
ojejULoji A.n rtKeoT^.1 g^hX epoq rtooq juLen v^^p
TertonfojajT JisLJULoq xe ncgnpi JULcf^ exort^ ne.
niJUL^-pTTpoc 2^e ^ojoT TenJUiei as-ajlcjoot k^.t'^.
^o'CJUL^aj^. ^uoc jula.thokc o-yo^, npeqxeneuortoT
enccoc ee^e noTAxei excoTxcjon e^o'vrt enoT-
oTpo oifo^ nonrc^.^ rt^-i eTenxoj^^ &^n eepert-
XVIII. nieKA.TortT"^.pxoc v^-p ex<Lqrt^T To-r-
cTKHOi^- ej^ JULeTpeqTixoJn "" (sic) rtnnoY2^^.i ^.qx^
ncCJOJUL^. JLJLniAJL^.K^,pIOC ^eit OJULKi" K^,T~^. xonf-
cTnHOi^. o'lfo^j n^-ipni" ^.non ^curt AJLenencuoc ^.rt-
ecjoovf e^o'rrt erteqK^.c exT"^.iHOTX e^oxe ^i-it
ojiti JULJULHi en^-cyeccifenoT cro^; eTcoTU e^oxe
ninoTE. (-por-) ^-nx^**" ^eit uijula. cTccge kijv^.
^o-rJUL^a^^, noc 2^6 eqe'f nipu'f ^^,rt ^en nxmepeit-
ecoo-y^ e^crn eniJULA. eT"ejuLJUL^,T K^.'r^. xenxojuL
^ert oTp^.ciji rteAJL o-reeXHX itxertxcjoK eE^oX jul-
ne^oov m"e TeqiULZ^pTvpi^. JULi^pH^f ito*ye£,ooT
JULJULici ert'f ojoT JULnoc enrcou rtejuL oTeponroT
nrtH GT^-Tep cyopn nep^.vcjoni^ecee nejUL nn ort
ee^^.lpI.
XIX. 0T^^-IpH'f 2^e ne nxooK eE^oX juLniJULA.K^.-
pioc noXiK^-puoc nicLjcJ)Hpi cro^ ni^,nocTroXoc 4>^.i
JULJUL^,T^.T'q ue exoTipi JULneqjuLe'<fi g^ixen ovoit
ni£.en ^ojc^^e eopoTCA.xi epoq nxe niKeeenoc ^ert
JUL^.1 itijS.ert ececycjoni xe n^-n TKpsn ^a. hh eT
^.'Jfepoe(Jopm JULneqA.vcjort nejuL nn eon^-cuoT-ejui.
epoq ^eit nxmopeqep cycJjHp erteq^ici -f ito-r m"eit-
cyooni on ncy4)Hp riKXHponoJULoc (-p5A-) eneqjuL-
Toit ^ert ojuiexoTpo JULnertoc oto^ nertnonr-f
* II faut ecrire e'f" JULGXpeqi" TCUlt.
405 2 K
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
Q-yo^ nertcuoxHp ihc \vxjc cj)^.i eT-e^oX^iTOTq epe
uoot niB.eit nejuL T■^.Io ni^en nejuL npocKTriHcic
rtiS^en epnpeni julc^iuox rtejuL^.q nejut nmn^I eeoT-
^.B. npeqT^-n^o ovo^ nojuLOo*fcioc rtejuL^.q -f rtoT
itejuL rtcHoT ni^ert nejuL aJ^. erte^ nTe rtieneg^ xh-
pOT ^.JULHIt.
Traduction.
Martyre dii saint eveqiie et martyr du Christ, abba Polycarpe, le
disciple des Apotres, lequel il accomplit le 7ieiivihne jour au
mois de Mechir. En la paix de Dieti : Amen*
I. L'eglise de Dieu qui est a Smyrne ecrit a la sainte eglise
catholique qui est a Philomelie:t que la misericorde, la paix, et
I'amour de Dieu, le Dieu de notre Seigneur Jesus Christ, se
multiplient en vous. Nous vous e'crivons, 6 freres, (en) vous in-
formant au sujet de ceux qui ont ete martyrs et du bienheureux
Polycarpe, qui a ete le disciple des Apotres, qui a marche avec une
multitude (de ceux) qui ont vu le Seigneur, que Ton a fait asseoir
comme eveque en Asie sur l'eglise de Smyrne. Nous autres, nous
I'avons vu dans notre enfance, car il a vecu longtemps| et est devenu
un vieillard tres-age, enseignant chaque jour ce qui lui avait ete
enseigne par les Apotres. En dernier lieu, il a termine sa vie
par un martyre plein de gloire et brillant, qui a fait cesser la
persecution, comme s'il I'eut scellee par son martyre. §
IL Avant lui, il y eut une tres grande multitude de martyrs
qui montrerent une grande patience dan? les tourments pour le
Christ, de sorte que ceux qui se tenaient autour d'eux, en les
regardant, furent remplis d'admiration. Parfois on fouillait leurs
chairs jusqu'aux nerfs de sorte que leurs entrailles et leurs membres
etaient a decouvert;|| d'autres fois on leurpassait en travers du corps
* Ce titre est du au copiste ou au traducteur copte.
t II mancjue une partie de la suscription grecque.
X Mot-a-mot : il a tarde.
§ Cette phrase traduit le grec : bcrrtc Hxnrip Iniacppayiaa^ ^la ryg ixaprvpiag
ai'Tov KaTinavat tov Siwyfiov.
II Mot-a-mot, apparaissaient.
406
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
des broches aigiies, on les tourmentait de tout instrument de torture,
et enfin on les donnait aux betes pour qu'elles les mangeassent.
III. Surtout le valeureux Germanicus, ayant meprise I'infirmit^
du corps, se rendit a la mort par la grace de Dieu. En effet le
proconsul desirait le persuader et lui fournir un pretexte, car c'etait
un tout jeune gargon; il I'exhortait en disant, "Aie pitie de toi-
meme ;" mais lui ne voulut point (consentir), il se rendit avec
joie, il attira de force les betes sur lui, les irritant, les agagant
lui-meme contre lui-meme, afin qu'elles le mangeassent et qu'il
sortit de cette vie violente et impie.* Comme la multitude admirait
le courage du martyr pieux et la vertu de toute la race chretienne,
on commenga de crier d'une seule voix, " Enlevez ces impies ! "
c'est-a-dire les Chretiens, et ils dirent, " Qu'on cherche Polycarpe ! "
IV. II y eut un grand trouble a cause des cris nombreux ; en
ce moment quelqu'un nomme Qointos (s/c), Phrygien de race,
venu tout re'cemment de Phrygie, s'etant presente au tribunal et
a leur ferocite,f comme son ame etait devenue faible et qu'il eut
peur, il renia enfin son salut. Celui-lk, cela nous est demontre
par la lettre dont nous avons parle en commengant, se presenta
au tribunal avec un empressement temeraire, et non dans la crainte
de Dieu ; mais cependant, comme il est tombe, il fournit une
preuve montrant avec evidence a chacun que personne ne doit
oser de telles actions sans avoir la crainte ;}: (de Dieu).
V. Mais Polycarpe le merveilleux, dies qu'il apprit qu'on le cher-
chait, il fut dans le calme, conservant son coeur dans la tranquillite
et I'immobilite. II voulait rester dans la ville, mais les freres qui
I'entouraient le prierent de sortir de la ville, et lorsqu'il eut con-
descendu a leur desir,§ il alia dans une campagne eloignee de la
ville, il y resta avec quelques uns sans rien faire du tout, mais le
jour et la nuit il continuait les prieres qu'il faisait au Seigneur, il
priait en demandant la paix pour les eglises de la terre entiere, car
c'etait sa coutume en tout temps. Trois jours avant qu'on le prit,
il eut une vision, la nuit, pendant qu'il priait, comme s'il voyait
I'habit dont il etait revetu bruler tout a la fois, comme si le feu I'eut
* C'est-a-dire, ou Ton trouve des gens violents et impies.
t Sans doute a la ferocite des betes, a moins que ce ne soit des juges. Le
texte est corrompu.
X Mot-a-mot, dans une non-crainte.
§ Mot-a-mot, lorsqu'il eut contente leur coeur.
407 2 K 2
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [1888.
brule.* II se leva en toute hate, il raconta la vision a ceux qui se
trouvaient avec lui, leur signifiant a I'avance ce qui devait arriver,
et leur affirmant que necessairement il lui fallait achever sa vie
par le feu pour le Christ.
VI. Comme on continuait de le chercher avec soin, d'apres la
determination des freres, a cause de I'affection qu'ils lui portaient,
on le prit de force, on le changea de lieu. Ceux qui le cherchaient
arriverent en toute hate, ils se saisirent de deux petits gar^ons en
cet endroit, ils les tourmenterent jusqu'a ce que les (deux gargons) les
eussent conduits dans le lieu ou etait Polycarpe.
VII. A I'heure du soir ils vinrent h. lui, ils le trouverent sur la
terrasse ; il pouvait changer d'endroit et aller dans une autre maison,
mais il ne le voulut pas, disant : " Que la volonte de Dieu soit
faite ! " et lorsqu'il sut qu'ils etaient arrives pres de la porte de la
maison, comme le discours nous I'apprend, il descendit vers eux,
il leur parla avec un visage gai et d'une grande douceur, de sorte
que ceux qui ne le connaissaient pas la veille ou I'avant veille
furent dans I'admiration en voyant son grand age, son air vene-
rable, le calme de son visage, et dirent : " Voila done le grand soin
avec lequel il fallait chercher ce vieillard ! " Mais abba Polycarpe
ordonna promptement qu'on leur dressat une table, il les pria de
prendre de la nourriture, puis il leur demanda de le laisser prier
environ une heure. Lorsqu'ils le lui eurent permis, il se tint debout,
il pria, rempli de la grace du Seigneur, si bien que non seulement
ceux qui etaient avec lui furent surpris en I'entendant prier, mais
que quelques-uns d'entre eux eurent regret de ce qu'on tuait un
tel vieillard, venerable, ressemblant a Dieu.
VIII. Le bienheureux Polycarpe, lorsqu'il finit sa prifere, eut
un souvenir pour charun, pour ceux qui I'avaient rencontrd,
petits et grands, riches et pauvres, pour I'eglise catholique qui
est sur la terie entiere. Lorsque I'heure fut venue de sortir, on
le plaga sur un ane, on le fit entrer dans la ville. C'etait le jour
du grand sabbat. L'irenarque Herode avec son pere Nicetas le
rencontra, ils le firent monter sur un char, asseoir avec eux ; ils
I'exhortaient en disant : " Quel mal y a-t-il a ce que tu dises :
O Seigneur Cesar! et a ce que tu sacrifies pour ton salut?"
Mais lui, il s'ecria disant: "La chose que vous me conseillez,
qu'il ne m'arrive jamais de la faire ! " Mais eux, n'ayant point
* Mot-a-mot, comme s"il (le vetemcnt) eiit ete brule par le feu.
408
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
persuade son coeur, ils profererent des paroles dures, ils le pousserent
hors du char avec une grande violence,* de sorte qu'ils le blesserent
au pied en le faisant tomber a terre. II ne s'affligea pas plus
que s'il n'eiit eprouve aucune douleur, il marcha avec zele et
avec hate lorsqu'on le fit entrer dans le stade, et il y eut un
grand trouble dans le stade lorsque la foule le vit.
IX. Lorsque le bienheureux Polycarpe entra dans le stade, un
voix du ciel se fit entendre pour lui : " Prends courage, Polycarpe,
aie confiance ! " Personne ne vit qui parlait, mais parmi nous qui
etions presents, un grand nombre entendirent la voix. Lorsqu'on
I'eut introduit, il y eut un grand trouble quand on sut qu'on
avait pris Polycarpe. Lorsqu'il se fut presente a Finterieur, le
proconsul I'interrogea en disant : " Tu es Polycarpe ? " et lorsque
le saint eut dit, "Je le suis," il commenQa de I'exhorter a renier
(le Christ), en disant : " Respecte ton age, jure par la fortune
de Cesar, repens-toi et dis : Enlevez les impies," c'est-a-dire les
Chretiens, avec une foule d'autres propos de ce genre qu'ont cou-
tume de dire les paiens. Mais Polycarpe examina toute la foule
qui etait dans le syn'edrion avec un visage placide, et apres avoir
etendu sa main vers elle, il leva les yeux au ciel, gemit et dit :
"O Seigneur, enlevez ces idolatres impies." Le gouverneur insistait
disant: "Jure par la fortune de Cesar, maudis le Seigneur, et je
te laisserai aller." Polycarpe dit : " Voici aujourd'hui quatre-vingt-
six ans que je suis le serviteur de mon Seigneur Jesus le Christ,
il ne m'a jamais traite injustement, comment blasphemerais-je mon
bienfaiteur et mon roi qui a de tout temps ete doux envers moi ? "
X. Comme le gouverneur le pressait, disant : " Jure par la
fortune de Cesar," Polycarpe dit : " Puisque tu (mets) ta gloire a
me faire jurer par la fortune de Cesar, ainsi que tu dis, comme si
tu ignorais qui je suis, ecoute en toute franchise : Je suis chretien.
Si tu desires savoir la doctrine des Chretiens, donne moi un jour
pour te I'apprendre." Le proconsul dit : "Persuade le peuple ! " —
Polycarpe repondit : "Toi, je t'honore, je t'adresse la parole parce
que Ton m'a enseigne a me soumettre aux commandements et aux
puissances, a les honorer comme il faut dans tout ce qui n'est pas
nuisible ; mais ceux que tu dis ne sont pas dignes que je fasse la
plus petite apologie pour eux."
XI. Le proconsul reprit (et) dit : " J'ai des betes ; si tu ne repens
* Mot-a-mot : un grand trouble.
409
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
pas, je te livrerai a elles." Polycarpe repondit : " Amene les,
il n'est pas possible de se convertir du bon au mauvais ; mais c'est
bonne chose de passer du mauvais au bon." — Le proconsul dit :
" Si tu meprises les betes, je te dompterai par le feu." Polycarpe
dit : " Tu me menaces du feu qui brule un moment, et qui s'eteint
bientot apres ; tu ne connais pas le feu du jugement a venir, et les
tourments eternels qui son reserves aux impies. Mais pourquoi
tardes-tu ? apporte ce que tu veux."
XII. Voila, avec d'autres choses encore, ce que dit le bien-
heureux Polycarpe rempli de joie et de fermete ; son visage etait
plein de grace, si bien que non seulement il ne se troublait pas de
ce qu'on lui disait, mais encore qu'il fit facher le proconsul. Enfin
le proconsul envoya un heraut crier par trois fois dans le stade :
" Polycarpe a confesse qu'il etait chretien !" Lorsque le heraut eut
dit ces paroles, la multitude entiere des Grecs et des Juifs qui se
trouvaieiit a Smyrne cria a la fois d'un voix forte et avec une colere
qui ne pouvait se contenir : " C'est lui le docteur de toute I'Asie,
le pere des chretiens; il detruit les dieux, il apprend a une foule
de gens h ne pas leur sacrifier et a ne pas les adorer ! '' En disant
cela, ils s'ecrierent tons a la fois, exhortant I'archonte Philippe a
lacher un lion contra Polycarpe. Mais il dit : " Cela ne m'est pas
permis, car le temps des jeux est fini ! " Alors ils eurent tous la
meme idee, ils crierent qu'on brulat Polycarpe, car il etait necessaire
que sa vision s'accomplit, celle qu'il avait eue le jour ou, en priant, il
vit que ses vetements etaient consumes par le feu, et ou il se retourna
vers les fidMes qui etaient avec lui et leur predit : " II m'est reserve
d'etre brule vif ! "
XIII. II y eut alors une grande confusion lorsque la multitude
rassembla en toute hate des morceaux de bois et une grande
quantite de sarments hors des ergasterioti et des bains : les Juifs
surtout, comme c'est leur coutume, agissaient ainsi avec joie.
Lorsqu'on eut prepare le biicher, la colonne de la verite, Polycarpe,
laissa ses habits, il defit sa ceinture, il essaya de defaire aussi ses
chaussures ; il ne I'avait jamais fait auparavant, car chacun des
fiddles se hatait chaque jour de toucher ses habits ou son corps,
a cause de la vertu* dont il 6tait erne dans sa vieillesse. En
* Le mot de TroXtrtta qui est aussi employe par le texte grec, est tres difficile
a traduire. II veut dire au propre : regime de vie. Je traduis ici par vertu, a cause
de eert^.rteC qui le specific.
410
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
ce moment on I'attacha avec les instruments dont on attache ceux
qui doivent etre brules ; mais lorsqu'on allait le clouer avec des
clous, il dit : " Que cela vous sufifise avec moi, car Celui qui m'a
destine a mourir par le feu me donnera la maniere de I'endurer
sans le soutien des clous."
XIV. lis ne le clouerent done pas, mais ils le lierent seule-
ment. Lui-meme, il mit ses mains derriere son dos, lorsqu'on
le lia comme un belier de choix qu'on offre en un holocauste
agreable a Dieu, le Createur de toutes choses. II ouvrit sa bouche
et dit : " O Pere beni de Ton unique Fils bien-aime, Jesus le Christ,
notre Seigneur, qui nous a donne de Te connaitre, Dieu des anges
et des puissances, Dieu de toute creature, Dieu de la race entiere
des justes qui vivent chaque jour en Ta presence, je Te rends grace
de ce que Tu me juges digne aujourd'hui et a cette heure d'entrei
moi aussi comme une unite dans le nombre des martyrs du Christ,
d'etre compte parmi eux, de ce que Tu me prends aujourd'hui
a Toi comme une victime grasse et agreable, en la maniere que
Tu I'as d'abord preparee, que Tu I'as manifestee et achevee : 6 Dieu
de Verite, de qui n'approche aucun mensonge, je Te benis, je
T'exalte, je Te glorifie par I'Archipretre Eternel, notre Seigneur
Jesus le Christ, Ton Fils unique (et) bien aime, avec Lequel soit
a Toi la gloire ainsi qu'au Saint Esprit, maintenant, en tout temps,
et dans tous les siecles des siecles."
XV. Lorsqu'il eut lance Va?>ien et acheve sa priere, alors les
hommes charges du bucher allumerent le feu et, lorsqu'il se fut
fait une grande flamme, nous vimes un grand prodige, nous aux-
quels le Seigneur accorda de le voir et qu'il a conserves pour
annoncer aux autres ce qui eut lieu; car le feu prit la forme
d'une voute et d'une voile de barque emplie par le vent ; il entoura
le corps du martyr comme d'un mur* et le (saint) etait au milieu
de la flamme, non comme une chair que Ton brule, mais comme
I'or et I'argent qu'on cuit au feu. Et nous sentimes un parfum
d'encens qui s'exhale ou encore une autre sorte de parfum precieux.
XVI. A la fin lorsque les impies virent qu'il n'etait pas possible
de faire perir son coqos par le feu, il (le proconsul) ordonna qu'un
soldat s'approchat pour le tuer d'un coup d'epee ; et Icrsque ceiui-ci
I'eut fait, il sortit une si grande quantite de sang que le feu s'eteignit,
et que la multitude entiere admira la difference qui existe entre les
* Mot-a-mot, il I'emmura et I'entoura.
411
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1S88.
incroyants et les ^lus. L'un de ceux-ci est celui qui fut une mer-
veille en notre temps, qui fut docteur apotre, proplifete, eveque de
toute I'eglise catholique qui est a Smyrne. Cast ainsi qu'accomplit
son martyre le saint eveque abba Polycarpe dans une paix de Dieu,
le vingt-neuvieme jour du mois de Mechir, et toute parole sortie de
sa bouche s'accomplit.
XVII. Le mechant diable, le jaloux et I'ennemi, lorsqu'il sut la
grandeur de son martyre et de son regime de vie immacule depuis
le commencement, qu'on I'avait couronne d'une couronne d'incor-
ruptibilitd, prix de la victoire, le diable se precipita afin que nous
ne prissions point son corps, quoiqu'il y eut une foule de gens
desireux de toucher sa chair sainte ; quelques uns allerent trouver
Nicetas, le pere d'Herode, afin qu'il se rendit pres du gouverneur et
qu'on ne nous donnat pas son corps, car il dit : " II est a craindre
qu'ils n'abondonnent le Crucifie, et qu'ils ne commencent d'adorer
celui-ci ! " II disait cela, trompe par les Juifs qui le confirmaient ;
ce furent eux qui nous empecherent d'enlever son corps du bucher,
pauvres ignorants qu'ils etaient, que jamais nous n'abandonnerons
le Christ mort pour le salut du monde entier, que nous n'adorerons
pas un autre que lui, car nous I'adorons parce qu'il est le Fils du
Dieu Vivant. Quant aux martyrs, nous les aimons, comme il est
juste, ainsi que des disciples et des imitateurs de leur Seigneur, a
cause de leur amour orthodoxe pour leur Roi et Seigneur, et nous
prions que nous aussi, nous devenions leurs compagnons et leurs
disciples.*
XVIII. Lorsque le centurion vit que, selon leur coutume, les
Juifs avaient fait une emeute, il pla^a le corps du bienheureux au
miUeu selon la coutume.f Et ainsi, nous aussi, nous rassemblames
ensuite les ossements plus precieux que toutes les pierres veritables
et precieuses, plus choisis que Tor; nous les placames dans un
lieu qui convenait a leur valeur. Que le Seigneur nous accorde
de nous reunir en ce lieu, selon notre pouvoir, avec joie et allegresse
d'accomplir le jour de son martyre J a la maniere d'un jour de
* II y a ici une faute evidente : il faiit condisciples, et dans le texte
CTJULJUL^.eH^"HC au lieu de JUL^.eHT"HC
t II y a ici une traduction mot pour mot qui ne se comprend qu'avec le
texte grec.
+ C'est-a-dire de celebrer le jour de fete en I'honneur de son martyre.
412
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
naissance, rendant gloire a Dieu ensemble et avec joie pour ceux
qui ont combattu d'abord et pour ceux qui viendront dans la
suite.
XIX. C'est ainsi que s'acheva le martyre de Polycarpe, le mer-
veilleux, I'apotre, celui-la seul dont me'moire est faite par chacun,
de sorte que les autres nations parlent de lui en tout endroit.
Qu'il nous soit donne a nous tous qui avons vu son combat
et a ceux qui I'entendront raconter de partager maintenant ses
souffrances, afin de partager aussi I'heritage de son repos dans le
royaume de notre Seigneur, notre Dieu, et notre Sauveur Jesus
le Christ, par lequel toute gloire, tout honneur et toute adoration
conviennent au Pere avec Lui, et au Saint Esprit Vivificateur, con-
substantiel a Lui, maintenant, en tout temps, et jusqu'au siecle
de tous les siecles : Amen.
En comparant cette version copte avec le texte grec, tel qu'il
a ete public par M. Dressel ou M. Zahn, on voit au premier
coup d'oeil que les actes coptes sont vraiment un traduction des
actes grecs. Cette comparaison, si on I'applique au detail, donne
des resultats importants pour I'histoire de la litterature copte, du
genie egyptien, et peut-etre meme pour I'authenticite et I'integrite
des actes grecs.
La suscription de la lettre presente tout d'abord une difference :
la lettre est simplement adressee a I'eglise catholiqjie de Philomelie,
et non aux autres cites faisant partie de I'eglise catholique, en
entendant ce mot dans le sens ^universel.
Le paragraphe premier de la version copte commence comme
celui des actes grecs ; il se borne meme a la premiere phrase du
grec : mais entre le nom du heros Polycarpe et le dernier membre
de phrase qui se retrouve a la fin du paragraphe copte se trouvent
inserees plusieurs lignes qui donnent des details sur la vie de
Polycarpe, de'tails tres vraisemblables en I'espece, au lieu des con-
siderations pieuses qui se rencontrent dans les actes grecs.
Le paragraphe second est tres court dans les actes coptes ; il
est au contraire le plus long dans les actes grecs. Le copte ne
donne guere qu'un resume du paragraphe grec, avec un trait qui
ne se retrouve qu'indique dans le grec* k savoir I'admiration des
foules qui assistaient aux supplices des martyrs et en admiraient
la Constance.
* w£ (cat Tovq wepteiTTwTaQ Ixttlv /cat oSvpEaGai.
413
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [1888,
Le paragraphe troisieme a I'exception de la premiere phrase, ou
le traducteur copte ne semble pas avoir eu un texte semblable a celui
qui nous est parvenu, donne mot-a-mot le texte grec.
Le paragraphe quatrieme ajoute un trait en commengant, men-
tionne I'episode de Quintus dans une phrase assez embrouillee, et
termine en developpant plus que dans le grec la re'flexion finale
sur ceux qui recherchent volontairement le martyr.
Au paragraphe cinquieme le copte ajoute au grec les mots :
consen'ant son cceiir dans la tranquillite et VimmobiUtc. Tout le
paragraphe est d'ailleurs traduit plus largement que ce qui precede, en
admettant que le texte grec actuel reproduise bien I'original. Le recit
de la vision de Polycarpe est un peu plus large dans le copte que
dans le grec, si bien que Ton pourrait croire que le traducteur
a rendu la pensee generale sans s'attacher a rendre le texte mot
pour mot, comme il le fait ailleurs. II faut surtout observer le
changement important de n.eCJP.£.OC eTP.IXCX3CJ au lieu de
wpoaKefpaXaiov. Evidemment le traducteur copte n'a pas lu rrpoaKt-
^ciXatov dans le texte qu'il avait sous les yeux, car en admettant
que le mot p^KoC qui signifie vetement eut pu etre employe pour
designer un coussin^ le mot £rV9 IXCUCJ qui veut dire dont il etait
revetu y serait un obstacle insurmontable, puisque le coussln se
mettait sous la tete. D'ailleurs I'allegorie rapportee, ainsi que dans
le copte, est bien plus comprehensible et va au mieux au sujet
que dans le grec.
Le paragraphe sixieme offre d'importantes differences en faveur
du texte copte. Les premiers mots sont les memes, ainsi que le
recit de I'arrivee des soldats et du supplice inflige a I'un des
deux enfants trouves dans la maison qu'avait quittee Polycarpe ;
mais le texte copte ajoute une circonstance tout a fait vraisemblable :
Polycarpe n'aurait change de maison que sur les instances des
frferes et presque de force. La reflexion fataliste du grec manque
dans le copte, ainsi que la mention de I'irenarque He'rode avec
la comparaison que suggere son nom.
Au paragraphe septieme les premieres lignes du grec manquent
dans le copte, et aussi la mention du jour de la semaine. Le texte
copte ne recommence qu'k la seconde phrase : kcu o\\ri. La version
copte suit ensuite le texte grec mot pour mot ; elle omet cependant
les mots : oaov tiv ^ovXwvuu. La fin du paragraphe presente cepen-
dant un leger changement : il n'y est pas question de deux heures
de priere, comme dans le grec, et la version copte parle de I'eton-
414
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
nement des amis de Polycarpe en meme temps que de celui des
soldats qui I'entendaient prier.
Le paragraphe huitieme n'offre que deux legeres omissions dans
le texte copte ; premierement les mots : ical to tovtojs' aKoXovOa dans
les exhortations que I'irenarque Herode et son pere Nicetas font a
Polycarpe ; et secondement les derniers mots du paragraphe : w?
^ir]de uKovtreijuai -riva cvvaaOai. Ces deux omissions ne genent en
rien le sens ; la premiere aUege le sens et la seconde est une
preuve de fidelite, car la presence des mots mentionnes n'implique
qu'une exageration hyperbolique sentant I'interpolation.
Le paragraphe neuvieme n'offre encore que de legeres differences.
Tout d'abord le nombre de ceux qui entendent la voix qui fortifie
Polycarpe est restreint : le grec laisse entendre que tons les chretiens
presents entendirent la voix : le copte ne dit que la plupart des
Chretiens presents. Plus loin le mot impies est explique : dest-a-dire
les Chretiens, comme il le sera une seconde fois : les impies idolatres
quand Polycarpe crie : " Enlevez les impies."*
La presence du mot CTn:e2^pIon pour rendre le grec tov oy\ov
Tov ev Tw ajahiio,' est typique ce me semble, et ce mot devait se
trouver dans I'original que le copte avait sous les yeux pour faire sa
traduction. Le texte copte emploie le mot Seigneur au lieu de le
Christ, quand le proconsul exhorte Polycarpe a maudire le Christ,
et dans la reponse de Polycarpe, le mots : JULTI^-OC IHC TT^C
correspondent a avrov en grec ; il ajoute aussi le mot bienfaiteur.
Aucune difference ne se rencontre au paragraphe dixieme, sinon
I'omission des mots grecs vtto toS Qeou. Le copte parle seulement
des puissances etablies, sans dire que les puissances ont ete etablies
par Dieu.
Le paragraphe onzieme ne presente que deux differences : le
copte dit : Amene-les, au lieu que le grec dit : Appelle-les, en
parlant des betes, et la maxime de Polycarpe : II est impossible de
se convertir du bien au mal, est plus generale dans le copte que dans
le grec, car le mot ?}yu.tj/ qui restreint la maxime aux seuls chretiens
dans le texte grec, n'est pas rendu en copte, ce qui est encore en
faveur du texte copte. Au paragraphe douzifeme, Philippe est appele
archonte par le texte copte, au lieu du mot asiarque employe par le
texte grec. En outre le mot TrpoffKijcpaXaioif est remplace, comme de
* En effet les membres de phrase sont renverses, ou plutot manquent dans
le copte.
415
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
raison, par le mot ^^OC, vetement. Pour tout le reste, le mots
grecs sont rendus avec la plus scrupuleuse fidelite par la version copte.
Le paragraphe treizieme offre plus de differences. La premiere
phrase ne se ressemble que de loin : le texte grec parle de la vitesse
avec laquelle tout le jugement s'accomplit, le copte du trouble qui
en resulta. Le reste du paragraphe ne contient aucune difference
saillante, mais vers la fin, la traduction est plus relachee, et le texte
copte ajoute les mots : colotDie de vcrite, en parlant de Polycarpe ;
ces mots ne se trouvent pas dans le grec et pourraient bien etre
portes au compte d'un subit enthousiasme du traducteur egyptien.
Au paragraphe quatorzieme les mots grecs iic fie^/dXov ttoi^hhov
manquent en copte, et le mots ai'ajSXeylras; etv tov ovpavov sont
remplaces par ceux-ci : II ouvrit sa bouche. De plus le mot
iravjoKpcnwp qui se trouve en grec dans la priere est reporte en
copte a la phrase precedente. La priere elle meme contient
quelques legeres diffe'rences, et toute un membre de phrase ne se
trouve pas dans le copte : eV tw Trorrjpi'w too y^pimod aov eU Tijv
uvaajaaiv i^io?]^ cuwviov Y^WX'/? ^e Kitl aiojuaro^ eV aCfiOapaia Truev^imo'i
a-jiov ; membre de phrase qui n'ajoute rien au sens general, qu'une
mention de plus dans la priere.
Au paragraphe seizieme, les mots Trepl (nvpaKa, d'ailleurs inutiles
au sens, ne se trouvent pas en copte. Par contre, le texte copte
n'apporte aucune tournure moins obscure pour lier la seconde partie
de ce paragraphe a la premiere : le texte grec est scrupuleusement
suivi.
Le paragraphe dix-septieme offre plusieurs changements. Le
commencement du paragraphe est plus resserre en copte qu'en grec.
Les mots du grec aceXfpou ce 'AXa:?/^ ne se retrouvent pas en copte.
Au contraire le texte copte ajoute a la fin le mot opOoho^ov qui est
une evidente interpolation, et qui a du se glisser dans le texte tout
au moins apres les disputes de I'arianisme, sinon apres le concile
de Chalcedoine.
Dans le paragraphe dix-huitieme, la version copte s'ecarte legere-
ment du texte grec dans I'expression du souhait final, mais I'idee
est bien la meme.
Enfin au paragraphe dix-neuvieme et dernier, la premiere phrase
seule rassemble au texte grec, encore y manque-t-il la mention
des martyrs de Philadelphie. La clausule finale ne se trouve pas
la meme dans le texte grec, mais elle n'est non plus la meme
que dans les actes coptes proprement dits.
416
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Que faut-il conclure maintenant de cette analyse detaillee?
Tout d'abord que les Coptes pouvaient, quand ils le voulaient,
traduire exactement en leur langue les ouvrages ecrits dans un
autre idiome. Le cas est rare; je ne connais a vrai dire que ce
seul exemple; mais il est peremptoire.
D'un autre cote, je ne serais pas eloigne de croire que les
Ades de St. Polycarpe, tels que la version copte nous les a con-
serves, nous offrent une forme plus ancienne des memes actes
que le texte grec. On aura observe que le traducteur copte n'a
ajoute qu'un seul mot (au paragraphe dix-septieme) ou peut-etre
un second (au paragraphe treizieme) qui sentent I'interpolation.
Les differences procedent par omission et les omissions conside-
rables de la fin et du commencement ne portent que sur des lieux
communs, sur les reflexions pieuses dont les hagiographes ont
toujours eu soin d'agrementer leur canevas primitif. Or, pour qui
connait les Coptes, il serait bien etonnant qu'ayant eu ces reflexions
pieuses sous la main, et ils en etaient fort friands, ils les eussent
completement passees sous silence. Le fait serait sans exemple,
a ma connaissance. D'ailleurs, comme j'ai eu I'occasion de le
dire souvent deja, le copiste ou le traducteur coptes ne pouvaient
guere resister a la tentation d'orner ce qu'ils ecrivaient ou tra-
duisaient : I'ornementation se faisait en ajoutant, jamais en re-
tranchant. Le retranchement des passages diffus ou n'allant que
mediocrement au sujet, des lieux communs, suppose en eftet un
golit litteraire dont les Coptes n'etaient pas capables. Si done,
en cette occasion, nous nous trouvons en presence de retranche-
ments evidents, il faut en conclure que les passages qui ne se
rencontrent pas dans la version copte ne se trouvaient pas dans
I'original grec, et que par consequent ces memes passages sont
des additions. J'ai fait observer en outre que certains passages
de la version copte offraient plus de vraisemblance et d'a propos
que les passages correspondants des actes grecs.
J'incline done a penser, sans me prononcer d'une maniere cer-
taine, que la version copte nous a conserve des actes plus purs
que le texte grec. Ceux qui s'occupent specialement de ces sortes
de question se prononceront avec plus d'autorite' que je ne saurais
le faire ; mais quelle que soit la maniere dont ils se prononcent,
ils me sauront gre, j'en suis certain, d'avoir apporte a leurs etudes
des elements nouveaux pour discuter et resoudre le probleme.
417
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY.
REMARKS ON SOME UNPUBLISHED CUNEIFORM
SYLLABARIES, WITH RESPECT TO PRAYERS AND
INCANTATIONS, WRITTEN IN INTERLINEAR FORM.
By C. Bezold.
In laying before the Society some remarks on unpublished
syllabaries, I am compelled to ask the indulgence of members on
account of the dry nature of the subject. I am aware that how-
ever interesting syllabaries may be to the philologist, they do not
rank in general interest with such texts as those of the Creation
and Flood. But as a number of unpublished syllabaries still remain
in the British Museum, I hope to bring these to the notice of
scholars in a series of articles in our Proceedings.
The syllabaries were a great help for the first decipherers of
the Assyro-Babylonian language and literature, but now-a-days it
appears to be thought that they are "exhausted" and merely
a subject of study for beginners. The motive which induces me
to make a fresh study of them, is that I wish to show the incom-
pleteness of those that are already published, and also the generally
unsatisfactory method which was followed in using these precious
documents for the interpretation of the magical, liturgical, and
religious literature of Mesopotamia.
I need hardly mention the great help which they afforded in
the whole development of Assyriological researches. So far back
as 1 85 1, when Sir Henry Rawlinson, Dr. Hincks, and Dr.
Oppert were working out the peculiarities of the Assyrian lan-
guage by the aid of the Achaemenian inscriptions, they found
from the syllabaries, of which a large number were already in
England, that not only was their marvellous work of decipherment
confirmed, but also that they contained new values for characters,
and phonetic spellings of ideographs, and grammatical forms. Also,
it was from some of these syllabaries that we obtained the first
418
PLATE I.
K. 4175 + Sn
"TIIT-
HPf^
-Tin
'^
->f
'WT'^"''
At
->f
Vr
yy ^y yr .^ ^.yyy.
->f IT -Hh
rirr
T?
in
Y ^*f ^ii
Vy ^] Vy ->f
<tt -^I I?
n ^
'11
h ^> >vr
57- — Obverse.
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., Jime, \i
*^
-\m-\
-■i<Hn^q.^^TT
HI
^y
^
m -XL
HI i^
-J:
ii -yy^ <«
-y^^ ^ ^^yy
-yy^ ^ -^yy
-^y <iiy
t^^y
j^
t^^y
^yyy<
a j^yyy
t^^y
t^^y ^^y^
;^'^
^' //C-C' /X-C'/A''
li^' "
fe^^
PLATE II.
K. 4175 + Sn
HRf^
>W-
^Tf
HPf-
HFf
--r
HRf-
Hff-
I?
>W- >ff- >ff-
n
>^
<T>
T4T <^'^T4T'^I4y^D
lv2^',v§si\
<^:i's\«:?xi^i'xV^k^SivS{:;-)»
HPf-
V
-Til
•7^
^?;^r.- , v.. -
- ^^yy ^y
^;:yy tv,< ^-y:
*;^yii <iiy -yyyii
-4- ^y- -HSi
57- — Reverse.
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., June, \\
j£ITI
-yyyy
j^yyy
5^yyyy '^y^^
.^•'cs';<i^<;-'^'i/'.''.? <>
^-yy j^yyy
^ t^ ^y
n V-
^i^S
\'v-yNV.,--V\'v-/N-.-\^
A 4^
-Hh
^^yy^
^>f ^Jh ^^yy^
^^;r,.>r^:)X-0.;
^ A^ -yyi
>-*-?-'' J
I *^
1 1 tt?f;f-s7>>>.i ?'^
y? H<
t^^ ^^yy
WSS^S$^^ '1
■'',\'\'-"''''"^v"' ^'^'■^'"Vv -V^'^N'^^v ^ -^-'~/.
-/^-f/!^' ;
->f
..ML..,
^-'^/-■^
, :gp^?i$liMiilfe -j^
''-/)-'')"-//^-'-/)'T-/}/T-/}/^^
PLATE III.
P7-0C. Soc. Bib/. Anh., June, \i
No. I. K. 4603.
'^^.^>^-
rTTT
:TTT
I^WWmWf
»^
ir^
A\
t Strassmaier, ^. F., p. 735 : /j
No. 2. K. 8276.
f 5.T!I<^ <WR ^ly
T >i£yi >f
r-^yr-riiH
^ir-
"-/ '"^
.if
-/^•'> -'i:'; -/-■•> I -/->; v^/;'
y^y^^
'-CvX
Mm
:<>w_<
ory?(?)-
3 »-Yy
[y possible.
PLATE IV.
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., June, \i
No. I. K. 8284.
St-
Mi
Ml
^•^•
-'%
iia
S
':<.^/.~^i<W:<^/,<^y,<^i<^.<^^;^^i$Si<
^ V I V :w^y
>^
'>.xiVXiN<
^^^i-";
-^I
T<]^
T
5^£ Sb I, III, 7.
t Defaced at the lower part.
No. 2. K. 4816.
Hf- *gry >^^ ^T--Tr^4->f r-M
>fff
>=ppf-
YYy
YT\
^^y -yy t^M | j
->f 4-yi^ ^^yy <-^h -^wm:
i=y<^^
=yyy^ii;
tizy
iii? <<r^y;
Reverse.
y '^^l
Partly defaced, but pretty certain.
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
idea of the existence of a non-Semitic language, of which there
appeared to exist two dialects in the interlinear incantations and
hymns. Some of the dialectic forms found upon the so-called
" Sumero-Accado-Assyrian " or "trilingual" vocabulary, whose scien-
tific importance was first demonstrated by Dr. Haupt, were found
to occur again in the bilingual texts. One of these two dialects
was then called the Babylonian " ivoman's langtiage,^'' chiefly because
Dr. Delitzsch thought that he saw on an unpublished list two
characters, >-^]^ ■^>-, which he read nak-bu, and which he
evidently compared with the Hebrew word HUp^, " woman." *
His view was also held previously by Sayce and Lenormant.
I have, however, recently examined the tablet, and found that
these two signs do not exist upon it at all ; but instead of them
there are parts of the ideograph >-^][p7 "i^j the true reading and
meaning of which we are just as ignorant of as we were twenty
years ago.
The above is an example of the value of syllabaries, as several
scholars have been content to find confirmation of an important
theory in a single indistinct sign of a vocabulary.
To another syllabary we owe a certain arrangement of cuneiform
signs made by the ancient sages of Mesopotamia themselves, to which
therefore great importance must be attached. I pointed out some
years ago, and Dr. Peiser has recently proved in two scholarly
papers, that a list of verbal forms published in the fifth volume of
the W.A.I, and giving the 2nd person masculine of the Piel-formation
of Assyrian roots, is arranged in exactly the same order as one of the
principal vocabularies, which contain the phonetic values and mean-
ings of the cuneiform signs upon it. In addition to this there are a
large number of sign-lists in the British Museum, which have nothing
to do with the phonetic part of Assyrian writing,| but are apparently
* See Haupt, Die akkadische Sprache, p. xxviii f. Here and in Zimmern's
Busspsalmen, p. 1 19, Delitzsch proposes to read nagpii instead of nakbti, but
nevertheless maintains the explanation of >-^T^^ ■<>- by " Frazcefisprache" ;
cf. Lesest., 3rd ed., p. 6. In April, 1883, I remarked in t\\Q Zjterar. Centralblatt,
col. 619 : Eine iveitej'e Frage aber bleibt es, ivelche Namen wir den beiden
Dialekten zutheilen sollen. So lange nicht in einem Tdfelchen emesal durch lisan
Akkadi erkldrt wird, diirfte hier nach den bisherigen Erfahrungen grosse Vorsicht
am Platze sein, to which we may compare also Haupt's statement in my Zeits.,
1885, p. 269.
+ See xay Babylonisck-assyrische Literatur, p. 201, § 108.
419
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [18SS.
specimens of calligraphy giving archaic or imitations of archaic forms
of cuneiform characters, and by the side of them the modern written
values, and following exactly the same order and arrangement as the
syllabaries mentioned above. It may be asked here whether this
connection is of any value at present. The answer to this can be
easily obtained from the consideration that recently the Babylonian
and Assyrian characters have been derived from older forms with the
help of one of these sign-lists in archaic characters.* When we
remember, however, that the vocabulary, which I have spoken of,
is dated in the time of Assurbanipal, that is to say, in the seventh
century B.C., and that from this and even latCi periods, we possess
historical texts which were evidently written I ^ archaic style in
imitation of the writing of an earlier epoch, with which we may
compare now-a-days the custom to print our books in mediaeval cha-
racters, we must refrain from drawing any conclusions from these
lists with respect to the real development of the Assyro-Babylonian
writing.
M. Terrien de la Couperie is therefore perfectly right, in
following J. Oppert f in respect of the date of K. 8520, to protest
against this method of derivation of the cuneiform signs. ij: How
much more then should he himself have avoided taking at random
from Amiaud's Tableau compare any "ancient cuneiform characters"
to be found there, among his selection being not only those of
Hammurabi, Gudea, etc., of the period of about B.C. 2000, but also
some from the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar I, and from the
boundary stone pubhshed W.A.I. Ill, 41, about 1200 b.c.,§ and
even from the East India House Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II,
which appears to contain imitations of archaic signs, evidently copied
* Houghton, in the Transactions of our Society, Vol. VI ; Bertin, in the
journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1887, p. 625 ff. ; see Terrien DE LA
Couperie, the Babylonian and Oriental Record, II, p. 78, 1. 4 ff.
t Exped. scient. e7i Mesopotamie, II, p. 66.
X The Babylonian and Oriental Record, II, p. So.
§ See for Nebuchadnezzar I my Lit., p. 18, § 11, h, 6; for W.A.I. Ill, 41
Oppert, Rec. of the Past, IX, p. 103; and Documents juridiqties, Paris, 1879,
p. 117. It is quite surprising that the " well-known head of the Leipzig school of
Cuneiformisls " has not read the translations in this work, from which the interpre-
tation of the Assyrian contracts started — until the present year ! Cf. the state-
ment in Delitzsch's Wbrterbuch, p. 286.
420
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
from such syllabaries as we mentioned above, to prove the common
origin of the Babylonian and the Chinese characters.*
Having thus given examples of the misuse of the syllabaries, we
now proceed to make some positive statements as to their value.
Let us look once more at the origin of this section of the Assyrian
literature. We must remember that any kind of grammatical argu-
ment in antiquity was made from the study of some great and
universally admired composition. The Chinese grammatical com-
mentaries started from the careful study of the so-called Confucian
collections, the Indian, national grammar from the Vedic songs.
The Greek, who trea'/ed grammar as well as most of their scientific
subjects from a philosophical standpoint,! nevertheless drew their
notion of grammar first of all from Homer's songs ; the Old Testa-
ment was the source of Jewish grammar ; the Qoran and the divans
of the celebrated pre-Muhammedan poets were also the sources of
Arabic national grammar. It is not surprising, therefore, that in
Mesopotamia, the cradle-land of the oldest grammar on earth, we
also find that the religious songs, prayers and hymns, and the
exorcisms and incantations form the origin of all grammatical and
lexicographical observations. This fact has been pointed out long
ago and is well-known. From an examination of the syllabaries we
see clearly that almost every equivalent met with in the bilingual
incantations and prayers in interlinear form is found again in some
of the syllabaries ; on the other hand, a large number of syllabaries
contain phonetic explanations of words, which have never been
found in connected texts. J This seems to me a correct guide for
* In the Babylonian and Oriental Record, II, p. 87 ff., most of the "archaic
Babylonian forms " from which " the old symbols of the Chinese were derived,"
are taken from the documents of Hammurabi, Gudea, and similar ones. The
forms for ig and tir are supplied, however, by the inscription of Nebuchadnezzar I
(Amiaud, Tableau, pp. 15, 116): the character for tar by the same and by the in-
scription W.A.I. 111,41 (Amiaud, p. 75); the character for alpu "bull," with
which the Chinese -^ [with not quite the "same meaning" but, already in the
classic Chinese, that of " an ox, a cow, a bull, kine, cattle " (Williams), or,
generally speaking, all "those animals that the Chinese consider of the Bos
^^«z«" (Morrison)] is compared, from W.A.I. Ill, 41 (Amiaud, p. 18). The
forms for ilippii "ship," for vm, and for ban are taken from an inscription of
Nebuchadnezzar II (E.I.H.); cf. Amiaud, pp. 16, 5, 59.
t See Benfey, Gesch. d. Sprachiviss., p. loi ff.
X See, now, Brunnow's List, passim.
421 2 L
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1SS8.
the method which I should Hke to follow in printing the unpublished
syllabaries.
I propose therefore to arrange the chaos of fragments of such
lists in the following manner.
Firstly to collect as many as possible of the syllabaries which
show any special reference to some of the published tablets with
incantations and prayers. Secondly to give a number of lists which
belong to one and the same " series." In the 2nd part of his
Dictionary,* Dr. Delitzsch has mentioned some of the texts which
are said to be parts of a series called by the native grammarians
"^T ^>^ ^ ^^^^ — fiabnitu." Another well-known series entitled
" y "^^yy •^ w//i ^ " is connected with a large number of Omen-
texts, and must be separated therefore from the interpretation of the
incantations. Another series gives lists of names of gods, probably
referring to some liturgical works ; another refers to astronomical or
astrological calculations ; and another forms the fundamental vocabu-
laries.! Of this series I have found not only a number of duplicates
but also new fragments. J Some of them give us a new redaction of
the text differing from that adopted in the hitherto known tablets. §
Finally, there are in the British Museum a few lists of a new kind
* P. 242, /. I must confess here, that I think an excursus like the one
■alluded to does not belong to an Assyrian Dictionary^ s.v. uru "nakedness,"
any more than an excursus upon the decades of Livy to a Latin-English
Dictionary, s.v. alius "another." I am sorry, of course, to lay my eyes open to
the charge of "a shortsightedness amounting nearly to blindness as to highly
important questions relating to the Assyrian language and script.'"
+ These are not yet completely (vollstdndig) published in Delitzsch's
Lesestiicke {cf. 2nd ed., p, v), see, e.g., Haupt, Zeits., 1885, p. 27.9. — Even for
the 3rd edition of this book the author seems not to have consulted several of the
original tablets. The character *4-, e.g., given as the last sign of Sa 3, 1. 3,
^^ctually belongs to the tablet published as Sa 2, which was verified in the Brit.
Wus, as early as 1882 {cf. niy remark, Zeits., 1885, p. 68). Both the fragments
zf^ noy joined together.
X One of them, K. 4603 {see pi. Ill, w. j) evidently belongs to the
" Sun?erO'Accado-i^.ssyrian" vocabulary, which has pot been remarked, Lesestiicke^
3rd ed.j p, 36, That there are on it so-called "dialectic" forjns, however^ was
euggested, vej-y j;ngeniously^ by Zimmern, Bussps., p. 72.
§ K. S276 {plate IjII^ ;no. a), a very indistinctly written fragment, on wJiich
the order of the signs C^Y^, "^f may be compared with that of Sb, 1. 309^ ;
K. 8284 {//. IV, no. i), on which the character ^^y imay be especially
422
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
the existence of which we had not known ; for example one in three
columns,* the second of which sometimes gives the characters of the
first in aninverted order, thus : yj^ ^ | A- y][ ; !][ >->^ | >^>[- ]^
which perhaps will afford some explanations of the puzzling ideo-
graphs for ajisii, tmigallii, etc. In another f the equivalents are
neither given in columns nor in the form of glosses, but are separated
from each other by a vertical dividing stroke.
I hope in printing the most important of these lists to prove that
it was quite wrong to connect any kind of syllabary with any kind of
connected text. We must classify the latter according to the
contents of the former and vice versa, and perhaps in that way make
a step forward in respect of the difficult questions raised about
fifteen years ago, — I mean the solution of the Accado-Assyrian
problem.
noticed; cf. Zeits., 1885, pp. 71, 355, and n. 3. To these we add here also
K. 8298, where on the lower part of one side, the character ^E^l-^ is repeated
about 20 times, in three sections, and at its left the corresponding explanations are
given: f tTIft i^}^ , ] S^f <, and f ^ J^Jf ft ; cf. Brl-nnow, List,
Nos. 91 3 1 — 3. At the beginning of the other side, we find :
ha,,<S^
A]A
41
id
* K. 4175+ Sm. 57 ; see plates I and II.
f K. 4816; see plate IV, no. 2.
423
2 L 2
JuxE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL..OLOGY. [1S8S.
IRANIAN NAMES AMONG THE HETTA-HATXfi.
By Rev. C. J. Ball.
If we examine the list of local and personal names appended to
Professor Sayce's paper on "The Monuments of the Hittites,"* we
shall see that, while the ten names from the Old Testament have a
decidedly Hebrew complexion, most of those which are collected from
the Egyptian and Assyrian sources bear a different stamp, and some
of them, at all events, strongly suggest an Iranian or, more precisely,
a Scythico-Iranian connexion ; while others present remarkable coin-
cidences with Armenian names and titles. No one, I suppose, would
refuse to recognize the Iranian cast of such names as the Comma-
genian Kundaspi (b.c. 854) or Kustaspi, the latter of which obviously
resembles the Medic Gushtasp-Hystaspes ; while the former may be
akin to the Zend Kuuda, the name of a demon, with which Fick
compares the Greek KvOd^fujuo's, Mu^u'ikvOos ; and Lubarna (Luburna,
Liburna), recalls the Medic Sidir-parna and Eparna of Esarhaddon's
inscriptions, as well as such common Persian names as Pharnabazus,
Pharnaspes, Tissaphernes, Intaphernes. The river-name Orontes,
the Arantu of the Assyrian and Arunta of the Egyptian records,
occurs as a personal name in Old Persian and Scythian, both simply
and in compounds like 'OpouToft/nij^', 'Opovcdnjs if and may be in-
volved in the personal names Garparuda — Garparunda (Gamgumian)
and Girparuda (Patinian),| which seem to mean much the same as
Tanuvazraka, "strong-bodied" (Sanskr. krp, Zend, karep, kehrp,
Huzv.karp, Armen. kerp, Lat. corpus,"body,""form"). Orontes, which
also designates a mountain-range, the Zend Aurvant, now Elvend,
means "swift" and "strong;" being identical with the Sanskrit anant,
* Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch., Vol. VII, pt. 2, pp. 248 sqq.
t Orontes (Xen. Anab. i, 6, i) or Orontas {ib. 2, 4, 8), names of persons,
and Tiarantos, one of the rivers of Scythia (Ildt. IV, 48).
X To accommodate these names, or rather this name, M. Halevy invents a
" zoomorphic deity Parud," of whom he afterwards remarks with unconscious
truth, " Le dieu Paruda est unique dans son genre."
424
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
neo-Persian arvafid, Armenian erivar* The gentilic designation
Patinai or Patina'a may remind us of tlie Persian Pati-zeithes (Hdt.
iii, 63) and Artapates (Xen. Anab. i, 8, 28), the Sanskrit pati, "lord,"
Zend/rt///, and, finally, of the Scythic oiorpaia, which Herodotus gives
as the native name of the Amazons {OlopTraTa = uvcpoic-Tovoi ; rather,
"men's lords," iv, no). Th.Q -na is simply a termination, as in
Atrina, Pi^ina. Tutamu the Patinian recalls Homer's Pelasgian
Teutamus (II. II, 843), and Tautanes-Teutamus, the 26th king
of Assyria, according to Eusebius and Moses of Chorni, in whose
reign the Trojan War occurred.f " Sasi, son of Mat-uzza," the
Patinian, bears a name which is similar to the first element in the
Persian Sisi-maces CEiaiinaK/jv, Hdt. V, 121), Sisamnes (2<o-o;(j'jy<,
Hdt. V, 25 ; VIII, 66), Sisi-mitres (2<o-/y(UT/>//9). In the Commagenian
Kili-anteru and Kali-anteru (Tiglathpileser I, arc. 11 20 B.C.), the
first element resembles that of Kalykadnos, a river of Cilicia ;
Kalynda ("of Kali"), a Carian town; Kolaxais, a mythical Scythian
king (Hdt. IV, 5, 7) ; and perhaps Kilikia itself is a derivative from
the same term. The whole name is very much like Kelenderis, the
designation of a Cilician town.
As to the second element, which appears again in Sadi-anteru,
another Commagenian of the same period, it may perhaps be
explained by Antar=:'Attar ; cf. Anterta of the Egyptian monu-
ments. Prof Sayce aptly compares Asianic names terminating in
-andros ; this termination, however, is more exactly represented
in the Cuneiform spelling of Eteandros, thus : i-tu-u-an-da-ar
* Justi further compares the Lycian Oroandes. M. Halevy strangely assumes
that Orontes is a "feminine of pN " {sic), the Heb. term for "chest," " box " ;
and that the river was so called, from the depth of its bed (!) With equal
strangeness, he reads " Hattin " for Patina'a, in order to connect the term with
"la divinite nationale Hat." He forgets thajt, although the name Hatte is often
written with the sign {^ [pa, hat), it is also frequently spelled ha-at-te ; whereas
the other name is always pa-ti-na'a, never ha-at-ti-na'a, as it ought sometimes to
be, if his view were correct. Nor is it likely that the Apre, now If tin, is " un
derive de "iSy poussiere, boue." The Heb. term, means "dust" or "earth," not
" mud " ; and had the Assyrians heard epre, they would have written it, as eprit
" dust," " dry earth," is one of their own words.
t The comparison of the Cetei (Odyss. XI, 520) with the Hetta of the Eg}-ptian
and the IJ^*^^^ of ^^^ Assyrian monuments is more doubtful, on account of the
single t in the Greek name ; although the kappa for heth finds a parallel in the
Greek Kilikia (Cilicia) as compared with Assyrian Hilakki, or the Greek Kuros
from the Old Persian A7/urush.
425
JLNE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [i88fi.
(t^ -^y s:yyyt ^^y ^yy<y— yy<y, 3 r 16, 5, 21).* Perhaps antem
is akin to the Armenian antar, "forest," or antir, " chosen," &c.
As to the Sadi in Sadi-anteru, Sadyattes, it may be a by-form of
Sandu (cf. Sangara — Sagara; Gadara, Old Pers. = Gk. Tavcapiot).
It strikingly resembles, however, the second element of the Scythian
])roper name 'AreficTaciov, and of Thamima-sadas, the designation
of Poseidon among the Royal Scyths (Hdt. IV, 59). T/iamima
means the sea (Sanskrit tdmara ; cf. Temerinda=matrem maris,
the Scythic name of the Maeotis, according to Pliny, Hist. Nat. VI,
7, the !~i.i]Tt]p -TOO Y\6v7ov of Hdt. IV, 86) ; and -sadas, sadi-, which
occurs also in the Persian Sataspes (?), Satis, Pary-satis, is the Zend
shaiti. Old Pers. shiyati, "pleasure," "delight," "charm." Cf. also
the Thracian Muiaacrp and Mrjcoaa&tji (Xen. Anab.).
Catu-zilu or Kata-zilu, also a Commagenian personal name, may
be compared with Kat-aoniaj and Kata-patuka (Cappadocia); perhaps
also with the Lydian Cotys (Hdt. IV, 45), the city-name Cotyora,
and the Scythic tribal name Katiari (Hdt. IV, 6). If the allies of the
Hetta, called Kati or Keti in the Egyptian record, bordered on Car-
chemish, as stated by Prof. Sayce, they may be represented by the
Catanii, whom the classical geographers place on the west bank of the
Euphrates in that region, and both terms may be compared with
* Professor Sayce has ingeniously suggested that Atys or Altes is the Syrian
Hadad (I.e. p. 286, note 2), and that the latter was originally a Hittite god.
IJut just as Rimmon is connected with the Assyr. raDuiiiin, " to thunder," so
Iladad seems to be akin to Arab, j^ rupit, fregit ; a term used of the crash of
thunder,, a falling wall, the roaring of the sea, etc. : cf. Heb. T]''n^ used of the
shout of the vintagers and of warriors, Isa. xvi, 9, 10; THj a shout of joy,
Ezek. vii, 7. That Hadad was indigenous among the Semites appears, further,
from his ancient worship in Edom, implied by the royal Edomite names Hadad
and Bedad, i.e. ben-hadad, or perhaps Bel-hadad (Gen. xxxvi, 35 ; i Kings xi,
17). The curious statement of Macrobius (Saturn, i, 23) that Adaxl or Adadus
means "one" in the "Assyrian" (Syrian) lang\iage, suggests that his informant
may have supposed that Hadad was connected with Tn^ "one," the Jieth of
which is soft; if. Assyr. edu, "one," edis^ "alone.' The Khubuscian Dadi
{temp. Samsi-Rammanu), and the Assayan Giri-Dadi or Kigiri-Dadi (temp. Assur-
na9ir-pal and Salmaneser, B.C. 885-854), recall Scyth. Aa^oc, Aafid/c?;g, AaSayoq,
and Old Persian Dad-arsi, Dadu-hya. The Colchian Dadi-ilu involves the same
name apparently. The name of the last king of Hamath, Ilu-bi'di, is probably
equivalent to nn37t< " El with me," or ^"HVBf'Kj " El around me."
t Kat-aonia is perhaps " home of warriors " ; cf. Old. Pers. dyadana, " dwelling
place," with which I would also compare the Adana of Cilicia.
426
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
Katazilu. According to Fick, the katu in Gallic Catugnatos, Caturix,
Vellocatus, Lat. Catullus, Cymr. Cat-mor, Old Germ. Hadu-bald,
Hada-mar, Thracian Cotys, Cotytaris, means "battle"; and "War-
riors" is a good tribal name. Kata, "beloved," is a Zend personal
name (masc), and so is Katu, which is involved in the Parthian
Of the Cilician names, Pikhirim reminds me of the Parthian
Pacorus (rinV-oyso?, tcnip. Trajani) ; Ambaris has the ending of the
Persian Bubares (Hdt. VIII, 136), and the Medo-Persian Artembares
(Hdt. I, 114; IX, 122). Bares itself occurs as a Persian proper
name (Hdt. IV, 203: written Badres, IV. 167). Sandu-arri may
involve a term akin to Zend arri'in, Arm. am, eppaov, ^ppa's, upp^jv,
aries ; but a more plausible comparison is offered by the Etruscan
"Appof (Dionys. V, 36), "Appov^, " Appwv, i.e., Aranth, Arunth, Lat.,
Arruns, Arruntius, the distinctive prefix of a younger son ; while
Sandasarme, a king of Cilicia (Abp. II, 75), and Sandulitir, a town
on the Euxine, equally with Sanduarri, involve the divine title of
Sandu, a Cilician divinity, whose name may be connected with the
Greek aavcv^ and aavcapaKr^, and so with the Sanskrit sindura, " ver-
milion." (See Virg. Eel. iv, 45 ; Plin. 35, 23). The Lydian Sandanis
(Hdt. I, 71) and the Graeco-Persian Sandoces, governor of Cyme
{id. VII, 193), recall the same deity. His epithet Morrheus maybe a
degraded form of the Iranian Mithras, which appears on a series of
Indo-Scythic coins as Miro, Moro, etc. {cf. Persian Mihr). As for
Sandasarme, it seems almost to find its double in the Sanskrit Mitra-
garman ; while the Armenian serm, " seed," prim, serman, suggests
that Sandasarme is a name analogous to Diogenes or Herakleides.
Uas-survi (surme) of Tabal is similar. The inscriptions of Van
mention a god Uas.
Prof Sayce quotes from Apollodorus (III, 14, 3, i) the legend that
" Sandakos came from Syria, and founded the city of Kelenderis in
Cilicia, having married Pharnake, the daughter of king Megessaros, by
whom he had Kinyras." The Aryan stamp of these names is evident-
Sandakos is an obvious derivate from Sandu. with the common Persian
and Greek ending -ka, -kos ; Pharnake closely resembles the Persian
Pharnakes ; and Megessaros recalls, on the one hand, such names as
JSIegabazus, Megabates, and Megasidras, and on the other, the Old
Persian '2epaa7racdvr]9, Siromitres (Hdt. VII, 68), Artasyras (Ctes. IX,
20, 50), Parthamasiris (Dio. Cass. VI, p. 637 : ed. Sturz), Sirakes
(^ipuKtji), a Scythian chief, the Sirakes^, a Sarmatian tribe, Syromedia
427
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.^OLOGY. [18S8.
('2v[)ofU}^i'a), a Median district mentioned by Ptolemy, and Oetosyrus,
the Scythian Apollo (Hdt. IV, 59), as well as the name of the Cilician
river Saros, and the towns Sarsu and Sari of the Karnak lists. The
Aryan qara, qha, means "head," " top," "leader " (Armen. sar, " head,"
" mountain " ; New Persian ^-w ; Greek Kapa). I have always felt
that the titles of the Hetta kings in the Egyptian records were
real proper names, and not appellatives ; that whatever Hettasira
and Marasira might mean, they did not mean simply " king of the
Chetta,"and "king of the Amorites "; and in this opinion I am happy
to have the support of our learned President Mr. Renouf, whose
judgment in such a matter is beyond question. Now the coincidence
of form between these x^tta names ending in -sara, -sira, and the
Aryan (Iranian) names just adduced, is striking enough. But a
yet more suggestive circumstance may be seen in the fact that the
first of the royal xe^ta-names mentioned by Rameses II actually
recurs fourteen centuries later in the Syriac list of the kings of
Edessa.* From the old Egyptian texts we get the following succes-
sion of xetta kings t :
Sapalel
Maru-sar
Mauten-u-re Cheta-sar.
* Dr. Bezold, who heard this paper read, afterwards kindly lent me his copy
of M. Halcvy's Reclwrches Bihliqiies (7" Fascicule). M. Halevy has, it seems,
anticipated me in pointing out that a king of Edessa was called Saplul. If this
epithet be simply " le syriaque ?-l7Sp aristoloche," the coincidence between it and
the name of the xetta king, can only be accidental. But in all probability neither
Sapalul nor Sapalulme has anything to do with the (J Q^aCD, a climbing plant
supposed to promote child-birth. M. Halevy is inconsistent with himself in
explaining Pumame (p. 275) from the Aramean ; for he also states (p. 287) that
"the Semitic peoples between the Orontes and the Tigris spoke Phenician not
Aramean idioms." Most of his suggested derivations are philologically unsound,
^._^. when he analyses Liburna — Lubarna thus: "/?<: ou 2'/ simplification de ^x> 'heu,
bar ou bur, qui est le masculin de I'hebreu n"l''3 forteresse, le suffixe possessif de
la premiere personne pluriel, | — notre." Birah is more Aramean than Hebrew,
and is, besides, a loan-word from the Persian (Pers. bar, bdru, " wall," " castle,"
Gk. /Sapif). To derive Pisiris, also written Pisiri, from I'yib'S, is a desperate
expedient indeed.
t I quote them from Wiedemann's Gesch. Aegypt. (Vol. II, p. 435). Our
President has kindly given me the following transcriptions : Sa-pa-re-re (or -le-le),
Ma-ur-se-re or Ma-re-se-re, Ma-u-ten-rc or Alautcrre, and xet-ta-se-re.
428
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
Now Dionysius of Tell-mahre has the following notice:
" In the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety, there
reigned over Urhoi (Edessa), Ma'nft surnamed Saplul, eighteen years
and seven months."* The king in question is Arsham, brother of
Tigranes I, called by Josephus and Moses of Chorene Monobazus
and Manovaz (ace. B.C. 38). And while this late Armenian dynasty
preserves thus unexpectedly this remarkable name, the second in
the Egyptian series, Marusar or Maursar (" Maura-sira," Marosir,
Marasara, etc.), appears to be the counterpart of Sarmair, an early
king of Armenia, who is said to have been sent by his suzerain
Teutamus king of Assyria with an " Ethiopian " army to the help of
Priam against the Greeks, and to have fallen in battle at I'roy
(access. B.C. 1194. See Moses von Chorene: ilbersetzt von Dr. M.
Lauer, p. 53). The inversion of the elements of the name, a process
familiar enough in the Hebrew names Ahaziah and Jehoahaz,
Elnathan and Nethaneel, may also be paralleled in the Aryan Deva-
Mitra and Mitra-deva, Vasu-Mitra and Mitra-vasu. The first element
in Marusar or Maursar seems to be reduplicated in Marmares, the
name of a Parthian king mentioned by Ctesias as contemporary
with Astibaras king of the Medes (Spiegel : Eranisch. Alterth. II,
p. 259); and again in Mermeroes, that of a Persian general of the
time of Justinian {ibid. Ill, 412); while the second recurs in Mani-
sares, the ruler of a part of Armenia and Mesopotamia in the time
of Trajan {^circ. 114 A.D.). If we were dealing with Semitic terms,
it would be natural to think of the Aramean mare, "lord," in trying
to explain the name before us. Mari' was the name of a king of
Damascus reduced by the Assyrian Rimmon-nirari {circ. 804 B.C.).
But a Semitic etymology being inappropriate, we may think of the
widely-ramifying Aryan root mar "to shine," "sparkle," "flash," and
of the stem mara, " brilliant," " illustrious," which Pick sees in the
Gallic Indutio-marus, and the German Maroald, Marwin, Wolf-mar,
and the Slavonic Vladi-mir; or of the root mar "to pound," "crush,"
and the Greek ixapvafuu " to fight," and the Latin war-god Marmar,
Mavors, Mars; or perhaps of the Greek /lavpo-i (Hesych.) =/to/>fo-,
in the sense of "gentle," "mild," (Ahd. maro, maraw-er, Ags. mearu,
miirbe, zart, schwach : Pick), and the Latin family-name Maro, and
{C/uvn. Dion. TelmaJu: p. U, 1. 8, sq.) *\ "U^'r^O ^^ U^* .^^oLaCD
429
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888
the Gallic chief Maro-boduus. However this may be, the other
half of the compound name Maresere or Maursara may obviously
be explained by reference to the Zend ^ara, or sara, which means
(i) head, (2) rule, (3) ruler according to Justi, and is identical with
the Sanskr. ^iras, Armen. gar (sar).*
It must not be forgotten, however, that Mar-k is the Armenian
name for the Medes of Atropatene (Moses Choren.), and Hdt.
(Ill, 94; VII, 79) names- the Mares along with the Moschi and
Tibareni, the Colchians and Alarodians, i.e., " people of Ararat," as
Kiepert pointed out long ago.
These are not the only names in Prof. Sayce's lists which
find an echo in Armenian history, fragmentary as that history is.
Menuas (Me-nu-a-se) is probably the same name as the recurring
Ma'nu of the Syriac list, and, like the Gk. MvVw? and the Zend
Manus, and the German god Mannus son of Tuisco (Tac. Germ. 2),
would thus mean Man (Sanskr, manus, Mensch, Urmensch : Fick).
It is distinct from Manes (M«/'//v) the moon-god of Asia Minor,
whose name appears in Syriac as Mani (. . iVn). Vaalli, another of
the Vannic kings (650 B:-c.), is surely a namesake of the Edesseno-
Armenian sovereign Wa'al (?), who appears' as the 24th king
(^(O) in the Syriac (see the list in Assemani B.O. I.). Sar-
duris may involve the term gira,- gar, sar, already explained ; while
if Mordtmann be right in reading Bagri-duri, we may compare
the first half, Bagri-, with the Bakru (0;^i:i) of the Syriac list, and
with "The wicked Bagris" of Megillath Amtiokos. Akhs-eri and
Eri-sinni (son of Vaalli) both seem to contain the Armenian air,
"man" (Plato's " Er the Armenian," Rep.- 615). Akhs- of the
former may be Armen* ach-k, Old Persian akksha, Sanskr. akshan,
akshi, " eye " ; the sittni of the latter may be seen in the Persian
Sisinnes, Psusennes. The well-known Abgar is explained as avak-
air, "great man," by Moses Choren.
It is not impossible that Gargamis may be a foreign pronuncia-
tion of the word which appears in Greek as pergamus, with the
* The tall cap or cone on the seal -impression of Tarqiitinrrne may, therefore,
be read sar, without implying that the term is there Semitic. Vtd. infr. To
the above remarks on the nanve Marusar, I would add another possible connexion,
the Zend name Za:iri-vairi which Fick explains from zairi, "gelb," " goldig,"
and vairi, "Panzer." "The golden-mailed" would be a suitable name for a
warrior : cf. the Gk. epithet xp^^orivxiK- There is also a striking similarity of
sound between the Chetta name and the Zend epithet ?/tardcara.
430
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
meaning "citadel" [e.g. of Tray), and as a proper name, like the
German Burg and our Bury. In that case, the Heb. Carchemish
(t2}^p3'^_5) might be a Semitic adaptation, suggestive of ^13) ^^iD'^^j
"a castle," "citadel"; the whole denoting, perhaps, "castle of Mish,"
or " Mash." Stephen of Byzantium states that Oropus ('O/j^tto's), the
modern Gerabis, was formerly called Telmessus, or Telmissus ; and
G. Hoffmann has remarked upon this : " Es liegt nahe TeX/iijaoo^
(auch TeX/tiffffo's) = ti^~)ri zu setzen " :• but his note, which men-
tions that towns in Lycia and Caria, and a river in Sicily, were also
called Telmessus, destroys the plausibility of this- suggestion. The
name is probably Aryan, like Prynmessus, Lyrnessus, Termessus.
Moreover, it still remains to be proven that Gerabis is the
site of Carchemish ; and the Egyptian spellings Qarqamesha
Karkamasha * rather suggest that the Semitized form of the
name indicated "town or fort of Chemosh"; compare the Assyrian
Kar-Dadda, Kar-Salmanussir. Tiglath-pileser I actually writes Kar-
gamis, not Gargamis.f Prof. Sayce has suggested a comparison of
the ethnic name Gamgumai with the second element in the term
Gar-gami-s. This may be right and, if so, the name is certainly
Aryan, for Gamgumai (Gamguma'a) may be traced to the R. gham,
" earth," from which springs the primitive ghaman " man," strictly
f^ri^fevip, as seen in the Latin homo, homini-s, human-u-s ; Gothic
gunoa, stem guman-, " man ; " old Norse gumi, old High Gern^an
gomo, como ; new High German gam in. Brautigam, Like so many
other ancient tribes, iJierefore, the Gamguma'a called themselves,
* Both are found, but in the second form the bracketed vowel is doubtful.
Prof. Maspero gives Zl^ ^'^Z]^ J^W JiLJ^ ^, " Qarqaniisha,"
in his interesting tract De Carchemis Oppidi Situ. Paris, 1S72. Golenischeff
copied V x6 ^^ "^^X fev ^ }\\h T ^^ Karkamasha {Zeitschr. Aeg. Spr.y
1882, p. 146) ; a citation for which I have to thank Air. Renouf.
t With all respect to M. Halevyj,."Gargamisha" is not the cuneiform spelling
of the name ; and although, for aught I know,- " Garkamish " may have been " la
forme indigene," it is, at present, supported by no external evidence whatever.
The Targumic karkheiinshd, "lead," probably got its name from the town, not
vice versa ; if indeed it be not, as Levy, s,v. suggests, connected with XDIDIS,
"copper," x^^'foc, xaXicwjua. And what authority is there for "the Assyrian
word kemashu, "lead"? The Assyrian term for "lead" is anaku, and the
expression ki massi, which was probably in M. Hale%'y's mind, renders the
Accadian zabar, " copper," 4 R. 4, 42 b (ki-maki-e mas-si lim-ma-sis). See also
Briinnow, 7814 ; K. 246, iv, 54 (Hatipt A.S.K. T. p. 98 f.) ; 4 R. 28, I2 a. I owe
the references to Dr. Bezold.
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1SS8.
in proud self-consciousness, " Men." If Kummukh-Commagene be
not a growth from the same root, I would refer it to the root kam^
whence we have Zend kama, "wish," "desire," Huzv. kamak, Armen.
kamim, "to love," kamk, "desire"; a root to which I.assen has
referred the Cappadocian Komana (Z. D. M. G. x, 377). The final-/'
is a common Persian and Armenian suffix ; cf. Kamirk, the Armenian
name of Cappadocia (=Gomer, Gamer of Gen. x). The Old Persian
personal names Artakamas, Artakama, Abrokdmas, which also involve
the root kam, "to love," suggest the same connexion for Kar-kamash ;
but cf. Armen. gargavi gargami, "bent," "curved." The town may
have lain on a bend in the river, or have been crescent-shaped.
Panammu is very much like the Carian Panamyes {Wavajxvri'i) ;
and Sulumal has the same termination as the Carian Kond-malas
(Ko/'C//«Xfl?).
To return to the Eg}iDtian records ; T'awat'asa (Brugsch :
Zauazas) is not unlike the Carian T«i'o-«9, and the Sarmatian
Zizais (Ammian. Marcell. xvii, 12), with which Zeuss has com-
pared the Persian T/0a(ov (Hdt. VII, 88). "Thaadir," "Thaadil"
or rather Ta-atar (or Titar) is perhaps related to Old Persian
dtar "fire"; cf. Atrina, the name of a Susian rebel against
Darius. If w^e ought rather to transcribe Titar, the Scythian river
Ti-arantus has the same prefix ; and -tar, -tar, is a common Iranian
suffix, and Ti-asba is a god mentioned in the inscriptions of Van.
Tartisbu and Aakitasbu perhaps involve the Iranian acpa, " horse " ;
Pers. asp, asb. Mat'arima or Mat'arma (" Maizarima ") is some-
what like the Median Mazares (Hdt. I, 156, 161); while its second
half recalls the statement of Herodotus that ar'una is Scythic for
"one" (IV, 27 ; explaining the tribal name Arimaspi), the Homeric
Arimoi, and the Erme of Tarqutimme, as well as the Lydian word
f//j(//f(, "mountains" (the Zend hara, Old Pers. ara). At any rate
its termination is Aryan; cf. Sanskr. agrima from agre, "first";
Zend Cairima, the name of a country, from gara "head." As to
Kamait'a (" Kamaiz "), the leader of the mercenaries at the battle
of Kadesh, his name may be satisfactorily explained from
the common Aryan root kam, "to desire"; Sanskr. kam ; Zend
kama, " wish," dat. kamaica, an almost identical form ; Armenian
kamk, kamatz ; Old Pers. kama, Pahl. kamak ; Neo-Pers. ^^i. The
ending is the same as that of the Old Persian Vaum-i^a, Vomises ;
a termination referred by Fick to the root ish, igaiti, " to wish,"
or if;, " to have as one's own " ; along with the prefix igat- in Igat-
432
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
Vagtra, a Zend proper name. In regard to the Tarhu- or Tarqu-,
in Tarhulara, Tarhunazi, it seems almost to demand comparison
with the Roman Tarquinius, and Etruscan Tarchnas, and Virgil's
Tarcho or Tarchon, the Etruscan ally of Eneas (Aen. VIII, 506, 603 ;
XI, 727), as well as with the Cicilian Tarcondemus and Tarcondimotus.
That the Etruscans were of Lydian origin is stated by Herodotus,
who tells us that, in the time of Atys son of Manes, a dearth
drove half the population of Lydia to emigrate under the leader-
ship of the king's son Tyrsenus (Hdt. I, 95). It will hardly,
therefore, be pronounced fanciful to suggest that the second
element in the two names under consideration, — lara, may be
akin to the Etruscan praenomen Lar or Lars or Larth, the title
given to a first-born son as opposed to Aruns, an appellation
of the younger : e.g. Lar Tolumnius rex Veientium (Cic. Phil. IX, 2) ;
Lars Porsena (Liv. II, 9). The title appears to have denoted
" Lord " (See Otfried Mliller Etrusk. I, 405). We are also reminded
of the Lares, deities who in the Etruscan religion appear as
guardians of particular towns and localities (Miiller, id. II, 90 st^.),
but more commonly as the household gods of Roman families ;
and of Laran, the Etruscan Ares. C/. also the Asianic town name
Laranda ("belonging to Lara"?.)
Our evidence thus far seems to point to the conclusion that the
Chetta or Hatte of northern Syria represent not a Semitic but
an Aryan stock, and very possibly an off-shoot of the original
population of iVrmenia, which might naturally enough overflow in a
southward as well as a westward direction. x\t all events, the
names thus far discussed appear to be predominantly Aryan ; and
to them we may add Pisiris, or Pisiri, king of Carchemish
(Gargamis) B.C. 738, which resembles the other names in -si'ra,
and perhaps involves Zend pish" to "strike," Old Pers. pis,
ox pesha, "battle," "slaughter" (cf. the Zend epithet peshogara) ;
Sangara, or Sagara (we see this inserted ti in Armen. Mindas =
Midas), an earlier sovran of the same city, which Prof. Sayce
has already compared with the river-names Sagur and Sangarius,
and which is perhaps also akin to sagaris, a Scythian"**" and
Persian weapon (Hdt. I, 215 ; Xen. Anab. IV, 4, 16), also used by
* Herodotus tells us (IV, 59) that the Scythians worshipped "Ares" under the
symbol of an acinaces, or short straight sword ; and Lucian (Tox. 38) gives
vq Tov aKivaKi]v as a Scythian oath. Perhaps the sagaris also was a symbol
of the Scythian war-god, or of some other kindred deity.
433
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
the Amazons (Xen. ihid^ ; Mita, the Moschian, with which Prof.
Sayce aptly identifies the Phrygian Midas, and which is also a
Zend participle ; and Ursa, the Armenian, whose name echoes the
Persian Arsames (Old Pers. Arshama), and the Parthian Arsaces,
which, like Khsayarsa and Dadarsi, involve the term arshan "man."
The name of Sapalulme (ve) the Patinian (b.c. 854), which rings like
that of Sapalul, the Chetta contemporary of Ramses II, and that of
Sapat'are his brother, as well as the name of the \a\\x\. Khisasapa, may
involve the word Sabos (2a/3o'9, Steph. Byz. s.v. '2n/3ot), an equivalent
of Sabazius, a Phrygian god identified with Zeus and Bacchus (see
Hesych.).
Paisa ("Pais") has an Iranian ending {cf. Parsa, "Persia";
Vomises, Wuw'isa), and may be akin to Zend paega, "form" (root
pig), whence the old Pers. Pisiya-uvada, the name of a district ; the
Zend personal name Pigina ; and the old Pers. Cais-pis (Fick).
Tarkatat'asa ("Thargatha-zas ") is curiously like Targitaos, the
mythical ancestor of the Scythians (Hdt. IV, 5), and the obscure
Thaigarchish, an Old Persian month ; and several other names pre-
served in the Egyptian and Assyrian monuments involve what looks
like the same element, Tarka or Tarqu. Thus we have the town
Tarkael,* taken by Seti I, and Tarq^timme of the famous seal-
inscription. With Prof. Sayce, I believe it highly probable that this
Tarka, Tarqu, is identical with the Tarhu in Tarhu-lara and Tarhu-
nazi (princes of the Gamguma'a and Melidi-Melitene, towards the
end of the eighth century B.C.) ; and I would compare the term with
the Parthian torkis, "king," which seems to be involved in the name
Sanatrucius(Sr(i/aT/3oi'/c(09 — '^ava-rpovK^K) or Sanatroices(2:fli'f(T/JO(V7v).t
Spiegel has observed that the names of the Parthian kings are all
" eranisch," with the exception of this one, which is still unexplained.
* The two apparently related names Tarl<an and Tarkannasa("Tharganunas,"
or " Thargannas ") seem to indicate the root tark, "to twist," "squeeze"; cf.
the primitive tarkana implied by the Greek Tapyavrj, rrapydvi], "plaited work,"
(Hesych.); Old Pruss. tarkne, Binderiemen ; Ksl. traku. Band, fascia (Fick). But
" Tarchan " or " Tarkan " was the title of a high dignitary among the Turks and
Bulgars. [TapxaVj'Menandr. p. 384; TaoKapog, Const. Porphyr. de caer. aul. Byz.
Reiske, p. 393 ; quoted by Zeuss, die alte Deutsche uud die Ncuhbarstiitnme,
p. 726.)
t See Joh. Mai. Chronogr. (ed. H. Hody, Oxford, 1691, p. 351), according
to whom Mecrdotes (MttpWr/jc = Mithradates) king of the Persians invaded
the eastern border of Rome in the time of Trajan, and dying, owing to
a fall from his horse, tTruitjut tvv vluv avrov top 'ZttvarpovKiov ^ApauKrji/ o tan.
434
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [188S.
(Gramm. der Huzvaresch-Sprache, p. 8. Vienna, 1856.) G. Hoffmann
(Ausziige aus Syrischen Acten Persischen Marty rer. p. 185. Leipzig,
t88o) says that this Arsacid royal name occurs also in the age of the
Sassanides, and cites /3a(Ti\evi- twv 'Ojutjpnwi/ ^afaToi'/j/c/y?, from
Theoph. Byzant. Phot. Bibl. 64. I incline to connect tor-kis tar-qu
with the Armenian der (tair) " lord," with which I would also
compare the Gk. tyr-annus ; cf. Armen. deran, adj. The -k is
then afformative. At the same time, it is a curious fact that
the Tirhaka of the Bible, the Egyptian Taharka, is also called
Tarqtl (tar-qu-u) by Assurbanipal (Smith's Abp. 15, 52); and it must
not be forgotten that an Assyrian or Egyptian, in reproducing foreign
names, would be likely to assimilate them to forms with which he was
more familiar. The result of such a process is sometimes a complete
disguise of the original name. Further, as I have tried to show
elsewhere,* Prof. Sayce's lists present some names which are most
probably Semitic, e.g. Hamath, Kadesh, Khilbu (Haleb), Piaunuel
(a Penuel?), Atbana, Atakar, Atukeren ; to which we may add
Dadilu from the Assyrian list, as is clear from the spelling da-di-i-lu,
i.e. " Dadi is god," 7^5''*n, which is related to the Hebrew Tl7i^},
as Nathanael to Elnathan. The same mixture appears in the original
sources ; Tiglath-pileser H, for instance, enumerates the princes of
the land of Hatte who paid him tribute in 738, as follows (3 R 9,
50 sqg.), Kustaspi of Kummuh, Rezon of Damascus, Menahem of
Samaria, Hiram of Tyre, Sibitti-baal of Gebal, Urikki of the Ktia'a,
Pisiris of Gargamis, Eniel of Hamath, Panammu of Samahla, Tarhu-
lara of Gamguma'a, Sulumal of Melidi, Dadiel of Kaska'a, Vassurme
of Tabal, etc., ending with Zabibieh, queen of Arabia. Here we
have, as Schrader notes, a medley of Asianic and Semitic personages.
PavtKea, dvr' abrov • ittpaiaTi Se TopKifi ^aaiXtie tpurjvtverai. One of this king's
generals was called Gaggaris (Tdyyaptg), or Gargares (rapyapijc;).
Volkmar (Das Buch Judith, p. 81) thinks Sanatrucis means '* Mit-Regent " ;
cf. prep, sama, hama, aiv, adv. But perhaps sana- is the eliement we see in
Sanskr. Sanacruta, Sanaka, Lat, Seneca.
Suidas : II, 2 p. 677 : ^ai'arpovKrjg, king of Armenia.
Seder Olam Rabba (p. 122 f., ed. Genebrardus, Basileae, 1546) inserts a pllDJD
between Seleucus and Antiochus,
John Mai. XI, p. 357. Trajan slew Sanatrucius King of the Persians, and
Parthemaspates succeeded.
* In my paper entitled "The New Hieroglyphs of Western Asia," in the
Church Quarterly iox ]\x\^ , 1885, p. 271, and Proceedings, Feb., 1887.
435
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1S88.
The names thus far selected from the hsts are not all which
suggest Aryan comparisons. " Sirasvi, king of the Babarurai,"'
for instance, reminds one of the Persian Seroshvai, and "Arta-
sirari " leaves little doubt of its Iranian character. Another king of
Nahri, " Parusta, of the Cimarusai," bears an obviously Iranian
designation ; cf. the Zend Pourusti, and the Old Pers. Parysatis.
" .^rfl/^u-sarilani," "Aram," "Arame," recall Aramais or Armais,
Aram, and Ara, among the mythical early kings of Armenia ;* and
may, further, be related to Iranian proper names like Armaiti
(Sanskr. Aramati), Ara, Armamithres. " Ardara, of Ustassi " may be
compared with the Lydian Ardys, and the Zend ardu, " mild," which
appears in Old Pers. Ardumanis, and Sanskr. rdu, "mild," ardra,
"moist." Lastly, as to the word kainru or kamlu^ which Prof.
Maspero has stated must be the Chetta term for " house," it presents
no difficulty as an Aryan term, but appears to be identical with Zend
kamara. Arm. kaniar, Phryg. Kl^iejio'-; Lat. camera, "vaulted chamber";
while the"bek"in Sathekh-beg, Suki-beki, and Baal-bek, may be
compared either with Sanskr. bagha, Zend bagha, Old Pers. baga,
Huzv. bagh, Phrygian fta^{a'io<i, "God," or with Sanskr. bagha,
"share," "lot," "luck," "good fortune," Zend bagha, Armen. bagin,
"portion," "piece." Baal-bek, in the latter case, might mean much
the same as Baal-gad, or it might denote " Baal's portion." The name
Bakhiani may also be connected with bagha, bagh, "God." Sargon
mentions Bagadatta as a ruler of Melid ; and Strabo tells us the
south of Cappadocia was called Bagadaonia ("home of the gods").
* It is possible that other names already discussed are explicable from the
Armenian. Thus Maresere resembles vieraser, " of our nation," nostras; and
Chettasere may be Chettaeogenes, " Hetta-sprung " (ser', "kind"). Or the
termination of both may be -ser, " loving," as in zavagha-ser, " loving one's
offspring." Mautenure or Motour may perhaps be compared with viatenaiior,
" book-man," Beauclerc, or motauor, vicinus, propinquus ; and Sandu-arri with
aryev, "sun," or ari, "valiant." Sapalul may involve a term cognate with
lour, "news," "fame," "voice," or with lir, "fulness," liouli, lievli, "full,"
"abundant"; and the termination of Sapalulme resembles that of ash-mc, from
ash, "right-hand," tsach-me, from tsach, "left-hand," and the pronominal im-me,
iir-vie. Sapa-t'are may involve dzarai, "servant"; and Irchu-lini, the name of
the last king of Hamath, may be compared with arqai, " king," and lini, "he
becomes," " is made." Bakhiani may be simply Armen. bagcan, Theognis.
436
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
NEW READINGS OF THE HIEROGLYPHS
FROM NORTHERN SYRIA.
By Rev. C. J. Ball.
In attempting the problem of decipherment, I have ventured to
make some use of the hnear Babylonian, taking the forms almost
entirely from the fragment of inscribed marble here presented as
a photograph, and comparing the Cypriote syllabary, which I believe
to be related to the Babylonian script. The following table will, I
think, go far to justify this belief; and may, perhaps, be considered
interesting for its own sake, independently of the object for which
it was constructed, as bearing on the question of the origin of the
Q'priote s^'llabary.
Linear Babylonian.
Cypriote.
A
I
== m
X )l(
The Babylonian sign is, apparently, doubled
for symmetry.
U
< (^)
The Babylonian sign doubled.
KA
GA =0 m'
2; i".
GE
m (i)
^. ^ ke.
KU
i
A A^"-
TE
♦
\l/ J, te.
TI
^ a)
f^ 'p ti.
PA
4=
+ + 4= /"
This character is turned upside down.
437 2 M
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1SS8.
Linear Babylonian. ' Cypriote.
PI ^1- (^) y V ^-
Animal's head with ears erect ? The two ears alone ?
PU0rd.Bab.7<y; BU>0-(^) ^ Id 111 ^ (■) P'' '
Linear |T] (?)
(l^ (u\ ii^i + io.
^ ^ ri; ^ /^ re.
RU ^ (Sargon I) ^ ru.
UR IL
MI <m % = Q^Q, ^ ^ ^'^^■-
a* iM (^)
/r\ /r\ vie.
MU
-(I)
X- -X- --
NU
X (X)
)! '"^^ If If '^
VE
1- (ME) (T)
X "ve.
SA
A cup or bowl.
■\r y \sa
SE
:^^ {y^/J SE
An ear of com.
\^ r ^ se
SI
<]- (A) §1
^^ ^ {\ si.
su
J (dm) SU(?thefist)
>lh >V SI.
:h=^ us (tqFj:)
ZA ; ; (four) 5X '^^- a »
438
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1S88.
The Seal (?) of Tarcondemus.
The small round object known as the " Boss of Tarkondemos,"
of which we possess only a cast, has been suspected by some
antiquarians, and rejected by others. But whatever may be thought:
of the " original " thin silver plate, it is difficult to suppose that the
inscriptions upon it were mere forgeries. It is much more likely
that they were copied from some genuine antique. The latest
handling of the hieroglyphs on this object, which we may perhaps take
to be the impression of a seal, is that by M. Golenischeff in last
month's Proceedings. Prof. Golenischeff's treatment of the problem
is, as was to be expected, both fresh and instructive 3 but it appears
to be defective in the following respects : —
(i) It somewhat misrepresents
two of the six characters ;
(2) It misapprehends the order
of the characters, and misapplies
the boustrophedon arrangement
which distinguishes the sculptures ;
(3) It takes no account of the
nearest analogies, but assigns
values to the characters on purely
a priori grounds, which are not
exhaustive of the probabilities of
the case ; e.g., the last three signs
might conceivably be dim-fui-i ;
(4) And, like other attempts, it assumes too exact a correspondence
between the Assyrian transcription of a foreign name and the name
itself.
The first thing we notice on examining the two identical groups
of hieroglyphs is that they are each divided into two smaller groups of
three by the sign '^00^ in front, and by the sign 4)000 behind the
figure. As this sign occurs elsewhere (Gerab. Ill) thus [||| ^
without the small projection, we may assume that the small addition
indicates the end of a word or syllable, in this case the end of the
proper name. The characters behind the figure appear to present
a better arrangement than those before it, the projecting arm and
lance making it necessary to place the ^^ /?/Jb> in an unusual position.
The small line, however, marks the end of the sign, and the fore-
finger of the figure seems actually to point to this sign as following
the two nearest the head.
439 2 M 2
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY,
[1888.
If now we take ^ for the royal name, how shall we ap-
portion the values ^^ suggested, on the one hand, by the
Assyrian transcrip W tion Tarqijtimme, and, on the other, by
the Greek transcrip <Aw 00 tion Tarkondemos ? In connection with
this question I have already pointed out {Proceedings, March, 1887)
that DARA, DARAG, is an Accadian term for antelope, the Assyrian
iunihu, and Syriac tdrohCi (see Syll. S^ 377)- We may further
compare the Greek BopKiU, now called ^apKc'ici, and the by-forms
^o'/jf, ^o'/jf, as also the Sanscrit rfa ( = arka, irka ? according to
Pictet), and the Greek I'opKo^ and tvpice^, which last is explained by
an/e? u'ypioi. The antelope's head may be taken to signify the sound
tarkhu ; and the difference between this and tarqu {cf. Tarhulara) is
not to be insisted upon {cf. Old Persian Khus huj a ■=GxQQk Kossaioi ;
Latin Tarquim'iis =^ Etruscan Tarchna, and the adj. Tarcon/ius).
We may also suppose that the antelope's head sometimes had
the shortened pronunciation tar; in fact, it does not require any
great effort of imagination to see in the old Babylonian sign ^,
tar, the remnant of an outline of such a head, with the horn slanting
backward at the top.
The second sign ^^ presents some likeness to the Babylonian
^, di, of which the earliest linear form would be \\y, and to the
linear if^ ( ^ V ' ^^ ' ^"^ *'^^ ^°™^ ^^ "^^^ altogether remote
from Cypriote /h, ^ , ti ; I therefore assign to it the value di.
The third sign ^,^00 (DDDQ) may be compared with Cypriote )V(
ma, and perhaps with Babylonian t^, u {wa ?). The Cypriote
syllabary affords abundant illustration of a similar transition from the
stiff straight lines of primitive writing to more elegant curvilinear
forms. Prof. Sayce has suggested to me that Cypriote na, 7110, may
l)reserve a trace of an older form of this sign ( \ || 1 ?). I thus read
the name tarkhu . di . ma.
Of the three signs in the second group
the tall cone or cap, by its relative size and position nearest to the
royal figure, demands attention first. Prof. Golenischefi" makes it
about the same size as half of the double sign M/i\ which stands
440
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
beside it. A glance at the woodcut of the seal will make it clear
that he is wrong. Even in "Jerab. II, i, i," to which he appeals,
this sign is considerably taller than the other ; and in that place
there is an obvious reason for making it somewhat shorter than
here. Professor Sayce has already identified this symbol as the royal
head-dress, signifying "king," and the use of it on the Gerabis
inscriptions seems to establish this conclusion. The shape of the
symbol, however, as contrasted with the /|| of Gerabis, may
suggest a comparison with the linear Babylonian §/ \ViTr-r-^ or
§--f>rrTTTTTT-r>~^ , as it appears on the mace-head of Sargon I. The
cross-bar of the character on the seal may then indicate the junction
of the sign B-, gal, "great," with IMTttt-j-^ , m, "man." (The
Babylonian sign must, of course, be set upright, as in other
instances, though in this case reversely.) I do not, however, lay
stress on this last suggestion, as this head-dress is similar to that of
the figures at Boghaz Keui.
The word indicated on the seal may be sar (car) ; i.e. the Aryan
firas, fara, Kupa, " head/' " ruler," which accidentally agrees with
the Semitic sar, Assyr. same, " king " ; or it may be some other
term of like import.
The second sign in this group, ^^^, corresponds very well with
the linear Babylonian DC^^^-^^^j ^^j the later ^.yyy-^ , and the Cypriote
^, ri. It must be read towards its opening, as appears from the
similar characters of Gerab. I. The third sign, Mm.j closely re-
semble the Cypriote /\/\, ;;//, and may be further compared with
the old Babylonian ^=|E ||||, in which we may suppose one half
'" UN
of the original figure jOv ^ to have been placed above the other
in order to avoid the appearance of two characters. As the Accadian
word thus symbolized meant " darkness," the hieroglyph perhaps
pictured mountains, and referred to the effect of mountains in casting
shadows and shutting out the light.
Thus the second group may be transcribed sar-er-mi. Now the
Cuneiform of the rim ought probably to be read me(ve)-e tar-qu-u-
TiM-ME SAR MI (?) ER.* 1 transcribe the ideogram for " country " by
MI, assuming that the Cuneiform text is not Assyrian, and comparing
* See an admirable paper by Mr. A. Amiaud, za, I, 1886, p. 274,
441
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY,
[1SS8.
Clerab. I, i, d and Gerab. II, i ; and I suggest as a tentative transla-
tion : "The noble Tarkhudiraa, king of the land of Er." With vef,
compare the Armenian veh, "great," "noble;" and with sar, the
Armenian sar, " head," " summit." For the first element in the name
Tarqutimme, see my former paper, pp. ir, 12; the second may be
referred to the Armenian tima-gh, " face," " presence," or iime-l,
"to run."
The Inscriptions from Gerabis.
In the best preserved of the fragmentary inscriptions from
■Gerabis, we have the following groups of signs : —
Line i, col. 3 and 4
Line 2, col. 3 and 4 : m^^ {l>) fe J^^
Lines 4 and 5, col. i : »-> {c)
^
^^
In a second inscription from the same place we have :-
Line 2 : ®— ^ {e)
Line 3
A third inscription gives us in its opening line : —
^ j^mu}
Ailg
The arrows indicate the direction of reading, which, as was
pointed out long ago by Dr. Hayes Ward, is toivards the faces,
442
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [188S.
Now a little consideration will make it evident that in these six
groups of characters we have an identical expression repeated ; and
that this expression is a proper name, followed by an hieroglyph
denoting " king," is a natural hypothesis to proceed upon. We have
already agreed to assign the value of " king " to the tall cap, which
reappears in the present inscriptions at the end of our groups.
The characters preceding it may, therefore, contain a royal name.
Now the third of these characters is DQQQ, also written mD, and
<^ ^, which last reminds us of the (S;^ (}Q of the seal. Accordingly
we may suppose that it has the same value, viz., ma. Similar
variations of form abound in this rude and uncouth script; some-
times to the extent of almost obliterating the identity of equivalent
characters. The next character in the lines which I have marked
(«), (/^), (^), is ^^, which appears in (/) under the more elaborate
form of ^^ This is evidently a plant of some kind ; and the
form in {a\ {b), {d), is sufficiently like that of the Cypriote character
Y? 4^5 v\/? which has the value se, to warrant comparison. This
comparison and the inference which follows from it is strengthened
when we further compare the linear Babylonian -^^>- se, originally
^; and remember that se, se'vn, means "ear of corn." Cf.
also the linear Bab. r^^^^ zik, a jar or vessel for containing grain.
The next character in (a), {b), {d), {/), is the common X (or
t: but the stone is so worn in the last place that I cannot be
sure whether the sign there is jjT or ^). With this it is natural
to compare Cypriote ^, ^, which has the value //; and the
linear Babylonian -<]-^, originally "t^, which has the same value.*
* As Ti meant "life" in the presemitic language of Babylonia, this figure
may perhaps be compared with the symbol 'TjI^j so frequent on Phoenician
monuments ; and this, again, with the Frohar, or Fravashi, the guardian spirit of
Mazdeism, whose symbol on the Sassanian coins is H^ and 42i . The original
of this emblem is clearly the winged representation of Ahuramazda, as seen above
the head of Darius at Behistun. The symbol occurs on the body of the horse of
Chosroes II at Takht-i-bostan, figured in Rawlinson's Sezenth Mon., p. 612;
and other things which recall the supposed Hittite symbols may be seen in the
same well-known work ; e.g., the standard of Varahran IV is this :
which is very much like the TT so common at Boghaz-Keui ; while the
form of another standard there T resembles the V of the Sassanian coins
443
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
Thus we get ma-se-ti for the second half of the name as it is
divided in (r), {d). It remains to consider the first half, which is
The character m resembles the linear
written "1^3 or
Bab. ^ , ^, RA ; and the symbol which follows, and which I take
to be a closed hand with the thumb extended, reminds me that the
Babylonian sign id, it (^y-t^f), originally represented a hand {see
Tratis., VI, 2, 470). The Cypriote [-, -| , \^, ta, p, "^, ^'(?, "J^, "Ri »
tu, may perhaps be compared, and the Egyptian ci^xi /, is at least
a coincidence. In Armenian tat means " palm " of the hand or
foot {cf. Egyptian tet or tot, " hand "). Mr. Rylands, however, con-
siders the symbol to be an animal's head, viz., that of a hare (Turk.
ta-wshtui) ; but the form in Gerab. II especially seems unfavourable
to this view. Assuming the justice of these comparisons, we con-
clude that the first half of the royal name in our first and second
inscriptions is ra-ta, or, sounding the inherent vowel before the R,
AR-TA, the well-known element in so many names of Iranian origin \
and the whole designation ar-ta-ma-se-ti, or Artavasdes, the name
of an Armenian (Arsacid) sovereign, contemporary with Tarcon-
demus of Cilicia, the friend of Mark Antony.
This reading of {a) {b) {c) (d) (/) is confirmed by (^). Here we
have the important variant : —
That is to say ar-ta-ma-az-da-(?)
The animal's head in the fourth place, instead of the plant ^^
seemed awkward for my view, until, with Mr. Rylands' help, I had
determined from an examination of the stone itself that it was the
head of an ibex, with a much larger horn than appears in the litho
graph. This gave me the appropriate value az, which I inferred
and sculptures ; cf. also the ornament on the crown of Isdigerd 11 (Rawlinson,
op. at., p. 310), where the orb erf" the sun is placed aboz'e the crescent moon, as
in the emblem at Boghaz-Keui. The mural crowns and the eagle head-dress of the
Sassanian sovereigns present other curious parallels ; and the long streamers
attached to the diadems of Artaxerxes I and his son Sapor (Rawlinson, op. cit.,
p. 65) are wonderfully like the supposed royal head-dress of the stones from
Ilamath.
444
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1SS8.
from the Zend aza, iza ; Pahlavi azi ; Pers. azarik ; c.f. Sanskrit
agd, Greek a'l'^; Armen. ayz ; and even the Heb. f^^ Arab. -J^^^^.,
Phenician a^a (Stephen of Byzantium).
Of the last two characters, the upper one is pretty clearly ^,
although both are much defaced. In my former paper I inclined
to the value d (da, di, or du?) for this character, and the
present case seems to require it. The shape of the last sign can
hardly be determined at present ; it may be ^ or oQa . I have,
therefore, written a (?), instead of suggesting a value.
The third inscription furnishes yet another variant. The form
of the characters differs remarkably from that which we have just
considered ; but the name appears to be substantially identical. If
our former conclusions hold, there can be little difficulty in recog-
nizing ar-ta-ma(va)-az in the group {g) ; and Artavaz is a legitimate
contraction of Artavasdes.
Ger. I begins with the group nnn,-^^^- The inscription
oDq LIOIJU
on the lion with
The second group omits the head and arm, a sign clearly
analogous to the Egyptian hieroglyphs denoting speech, action with
the mouth, etc.
We may assume the identity of these two groups and restore
^ in Ger. I ; see line 3, col. C, line 5, col. D ( = ¥ of Merash = %
of Ger. III). This expression then will be either a verb or a
verbal noun denoting some kind of speaking or speaker ; and
we note in passing that it is important as indicating the order in
which the signs must be read, viz., ahuays frofu top to bottom, as
in the proper name already deciphered.
At Hamath we have instead V^= Hence it appears that the
□no °^°
head and arm are equivalent to nnjjl or DDDQ , as might be expected
in a hieroglyphic script. ^
We have already assigned the values ni or ne and ma to
the first two signs. It is perhaps more than a coincidence that
445
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY, [1888.
the Aryan root nam means " to bow down," and that Zend nemanh,
Pahl. namaz, means "salutation," "homage," "worship;" ^.Turkish
tiemazin, " prayers."
Lastly, Ger, II begins with a conventional form of the head
g^ corresponding probably to the head with protruded tongue of
Ger. Ill, 2, 4 ; and this is followed by a long vase or phial /^
much resembling some familiar Assyrian examples, and repeated in
Ger. Ill, 2, just before the royal name. This vase would therefore
seem to have the value ni or nim. It is at least curious that the
Old Babylonian rr~-~-^ . primitive y, ni (Assyrian samnu, "oil"),
probably represents an oil-flask. The open neck of the phial sug-
gests the pouring forth or utterance of speech.
What is the value of ^ ?
Gerabis I, 2 D, has ^ between <0 and the royal [name.
In 4 A we have instead ^. .
But Ger. Ill, 3 has in the same position only E. We infer that
, , or ""-^ ^EjiP appeared to be da or ta in Ger. Ill, 2
(the royal name) ; and ^% may be compared with Cypriote {^
RE or (^ SI. This gives the value tar or tas for E °^ ^•
Now on the Marash lion we have (line i) the groups y^
ys, *
and y^dj \f and in the second line ^^7^ W all forming
part of one and the same proper name.
That the goat's head has the value tar we have already inferred
from the Boss of Tarcondemus ; and the plant vl^ clearly has the
* This character is really ¥ , though the cross-lines have left very little trace
of themselves on the casts.
446
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
same value as the f^ of Ger. I, and the ^^ of Ger. Ill, viz, se,
or perhaps as, es. The latter value will give astar or estar for
17: . Now as vdJ V = ^ V it follows that >:^ = ^ g
J t J ^ J t ^
and (^ being probably a determinative prefix, we conclude that pT
is written phonetically in the second group by the signs which follow
it, viz. r3 J . Now the Persian for "ass" is astar; cf. Armenian
esh, ishean, ishear ; Turkish hhek (mule esster). Thus the foot
appears to have the value as or es, and 1 the value tar ; and
the three groups are variously written D.P. as-tar-tar-r, D.P.
as-tar-as-tar, and astar-as-tar-as-tar. (As I| = ^^ or J^
and ^ = da, fa, we see that ^M and ^^v^ and ^ its variant on
Ger. Ill must involve R.)
The first word on the lion's back DDDH thus appears to be
ne-ma-tar, perhaps "worshipper." ^
We may now consider the first half of the royal name, which
immediately follows this opening word. It is ^sV . I think this.
which occurs also in H I, 3, is dadi, written thus : dadi - da - Di.
Elsewhere we find \M3 god dadi-di * (front of the lion, line 2 ;
Tyana, line 3).
sV resembles =j vj the linear Babylonian form of da.
Dad-astar combines two well-known names of Oriental mytho-
logy, viz., Dadi or Hadad, and Istar or Ashtoreth, i.e., the sun and
the moon or Venus. Cf. 'Attar-'athe, Atergatis.
* The sign for the god Dadi is apparently a serpent {see Hamath I). The
serpent is a well known symbol of life.
447
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
On the front of the lion, line 2 ad fin. ^ we see
Applying the values thus far supposed, we read
"the goddess tar. ma. r. as."
That the 0 follows ¥ is clear from Ger. I, 3, D, jr. ^-
as well as from its position on the casts. The hare appears to be
the symbol of the goddess of Marash. (Ashtar-Cybele ?)
Lastly, Hamath V has the groups © ^~J (line 2) ; L-^ 'W
0 I 1^0
(line 3 at the beginning, and again in the middle); and (in the
first line of tlie so-called Hamath IV) <5=p ^^ This deity is
DE . VA . AS . TAR. The first element, d'eva or dh\ may be compared
with Zend deva "demon," and Armen. di-k, di-tz, di-otz, "false god."
In the first group it is written god de . ma . as . as . tar, in the
second god de . ma . as . as . tar . tar ; in the third god de . ma . as .
as . tar. The redundancy will not surprise those who are familiar
with the general peculiarities of hierogl>'phic scripts.
In Ger. Ill, 2, the royal name and ideogram are followed by
two signs which appear to denote " country," after which we have
the group ^^ « that is, if I am right in seeing in the repeated
symbol a conventional form of the bent arm (an identification
accepted by Professor Sayce), and in the second sign an equivalent
of the Cypriote ?^ me, ar-me-ne-ar, "the Armenians."*
This is again followed by the ideogram for "king"; and this by
three symbols (a club and two forms of the extended arm) which
may represent the Armenian word vazrouk. Old Persian vazraka,
" strong."
* The symbol transcribed me appears identical with llie fifth sign in II, I, II, III.
It has been called a grasshopper, but is perhaps a bee (Armenian me-gou; cf. Greek
fnelissa).
448
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Ger. II, I, gives the reading sar ar-mi mi-iii. The head of
the sheep (not calf, much less bull) seems to indicate ar or ara
or perhaps ur; cf. Sanskr. ur-ana, Zend ar-run, " sheep " ("ram,"
" ewe "), Pahl. vareh, Armen. arn, Pers. ar-ran, Greek apv-6^. The
second mi is broken at the top, but not so as to destroy its identity.
The symbol ||| which follows it may be the numeral III (Armenian
er, err, eri, er-ek) ; or it may be the sign of the plural, like the
Egyptian 1 1 1. If mi be the symbol for "country," mi-er may
mean " country of Er "; r/^ Plato's " Er the Armenian " (Rep. 615).*
But perhaps mi-mi is simply a redundant writing; and ar-mi-er
means Armenians. In Ger. I, i, D, we have only sar mi er-r,
"king of the land of er."
Decipherment apart, I regard these results as fairly established : —
(i) The inscriptions are to be read towards the faces (this has
been denied by a recent writer) ;
(2) Symbols placed one above the other are to be read vertically
downwards from top to bottom, and this order is invariable ;
(3) Like the Egyptian, the character is partly ideographic, partly
phonetic, and often highly redundant ;
(4) The important inscription Gerabis I is to be read con-
tinuously across the four columns marked A, B, C, D in the
photograph. This is evident from a comparison of line 2 C, B, with
line 5 A, B. No single line, therefore, is complete.
I may here make my acknowledgments to Mr. Rylands for
much patient assistance in determining and copying half effaced
symbols ; and to Mr. Pinches for information respecting many of
the Linear Babylonian characters.
* The name Armenia is armina in the inscription of Darius, and NA is perhaps
a mere termination, as in the personal names Pijina, Atrina.
449
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1SS8.
ON THE WORD SEB OR KEB.
Charlottenburg,
le 4 Mai, 1888.
Tres-cher et honor^ Collegue,
Je profite du depart d'un jeune savant allemand qui va
se rendre a Londres pour vous communiquer une observation
assez curieuse. II s'agit du mot c^ J i] dont le sens mythologique
n'est pas soumis a des doutes, mais dont la lecture Seb ou Keh
demande de nouvelles preuves. Void un exemple qui milite en
faveur de Keb. Parmi les nombreux textes qui couvrent les mur-
ailles du temple d'Edfou, il en est un dont la science doit la
publication a Monsieur le Chevalier de Bergmann (voir ses " Hiero-
glyphische Inschriften," planche Ixvii). II commence par des con-
jurations et maledictions adressees a I'ennemi du dieu solaire.
L'auteur inconnu de I'inscription s'est efforce, a cette occasion, a
donner a sa composition le caractere poetique, particulier a I'epoque
Ptolemaique, par le moyen de I'alliteration. Vous allez reconnaitre
I'exactitude de mon affirmation par Texamen des premieres phrases
du texte en question :
"est refuse ton debarquement a I'ouest pres du dieu Hon" (Divinite
tres-connue comme patron du septifeme nome de la basse Egypte,
dont la metropole porte le nom de ^^ZZ7 ft © ; pour le
r ''^f r ^
dieu comp. ] ft Mar. Dend. IV, 79 — ^ ft
ODD/
L'identite de ^^ avec ^^ est prouvee par de nombreux exemples.)
"■ p ° /\ t j p ^ t ^5 y ^"^ ^^^-'' ^^' ^-^ ^''"' " "'
prepare ton? k I'Est pr^s du dieu Sopt" (dieu tut^laire du nome de
I'Arabie, le vingtibme de la basse Egypte et titule des centaines de
450
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
c. u u^ f \p=\ RA P^GS/e m PC yr ra, " est
.. D— .^1 / _ <=^ I _ A >
donne que tu sois crache au ciel pres du dieu i?a."
d. :=^ D 'f*^ ^^ J KB TO/ ;« TO x^ KB, " est
double le crachement (?) centre toi sur la terre pr^s du dieu Kei."
En etudiant la derniere phrase, quelque soit le sens qu'on
voudrait lui attribuer, on se convainc que ralliteration de < ),
c'est-a-dire Zl J ^^3 ^^, en copte KtUjS., au passiv KhE., duplicare,
duplicem esse, correspond tres-exactement h la prononciation ked
(en grecque transcrit k{]/3), mais non a Sed du mot ^s^^ J qui sert
a designer le dieu de la terre.
Agreez, cher maitre,* I'assurance de la plus haute admiration de
Votre fidele collegue,
H. Brugsch.
h. Monsieur Le Page Renouf.
* Haud equidem tali me dignor honore.
It would be egregious folly to forget that Dr. Brugsch had
produced works of the highest permanent value years before any
one of the Egyptologists now living had written a line. These
works have been indispensable guides to all of us, and if in the
interests of science some of us have occasionally to dispute some
of his conclusions, we should never forget that it was from his hands
that we have been furnished with the weapons we wield against him.
P. LE P. R.
S(^.')!^^S^
451
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [1888.
Account of the Manner in which two Colossal
Statues of Rameses II at Memphis were Raised.
By Major Arthur H. Bagnold, R.E.*
Immediately to the east of the village of Mitrahineh
(<U.jCb,Li:-o^), which occupies a portion of the ancient site of
Memphis, situated about fourteen miles south of Cairo and on the
west bank of the Nile, is a large depression which retains the waters
of the inundation until the end of February. This depression, thought
by some to be the site of the Sacred Lake of Memphis, probably
however only indicates the position of the Great Temple of Ptah, for
in the course of excavations, of which I will speak presently, the pave-
ment of the temple, or its court, was found in the centre of, and eight
feet below the surface of the depression. The elevated road which
forms the approach to the village runs east and west along the south
side of this basin, and immediately to the north of this road
was discovered a colossal statue of Rameses the Great, doubtless
one of those spoken of by Herodotus and Diodorus.
The discovery was made by Messrs. Sloane and Caviglia in the
year 1820, and an excellent cast was made of the head: this cast
is now in the British Museum. ( Vide Plate.)
The Colossus, which when found was resting on its face, is
carved from a single block of fine crystalline limestone, closely
resembling marble — very dense and compact, with fine veins of
quartz running through it.
This stone may have come from the quarries at Feschn or from
those at Old Cairo.
The figure is unfortunately broken off below the knees, and the
searches hitherto made for the feet have proved fruitless. We may,
I think, assume that they were broken up and burned into lime
by the Arabs when the ruins of Memphis were ruthlessly destroyed
to find material for the construction of Cairo.
* The Society is indebted to Major Bagnold for the use of the blocks
illustrating this paper, some of which he has had specially prepared.
452
Colossus of Ramksks II as it \..\\ i\ iiii. Waikk, iskkok
Proc. Soc. Bihl. Arch., June, iSSS.
WAS RAISED, FROM A DRAWING BY PIeNRV WaLLIS, E^Q.
Colossus of Rameses II during the process o)
P'oc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., June, iSS8.
SING, FROM A SKETCH BY HeNRY WaLLIS, EsQ.
Building
for protection of c
RAM
Scale
F F
SECTrON ON LINE A-B
C. Ri'prrst'nls (ipprcKx-jJtujUrly tlie (^vufuiMh pcsitioiL of
WaiM of Staiue/(fa.Ci' d<>wnWardf<)
D. Ilcprrscfdji tJi^ present po.siiion of waist' of
Stainc./ fnrv ufiwafds)
E. Storn- paclfuu^ U> srixmile potj^hcrd front AlJlivutly Soil/
F. AUiiviaL Soil/, iKirlly drptwii aiuli partly c-mhaiiKedJ
+
Proceedings Soc Bibl, Ardv. VnlJ laS'H
IVllTRAHEENA,
DSSAL STATUE OF
Es n.
ET
' I I 1 II if
r' .
%k
// .-/-Tl^ ***
i^
^-«.''' ■'^"' '-^ '^- ' i_ ■*■ — j^- *■-■'" /
riLLINC OF POTSHERO Oil 5HAF
riLLIMC or AkLUVIOL CARTh
17 FEET DEEP.
'Grant)/ of StaiiiM' UfS vni plajie/ G.H. 17^ inches frorrv nipples of breast/
Elevation looking North
A
APRON
2:
tTOHE
*TATUE
■STONE
OCR
JTATUI
C A F F 1 BS
ZJ c
HOUSE
APRON
g
^
Plan
(J^' ,Vf'
»■
M
P7-0C. Soc. Bihl. Arch., Jum, \\
fl^;
'
Head of the Colossus of Rameses II, from the Cast
IN THE British Museum.
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., [tine, \\
Colossus of Rameses II, Reduced from a Photograph.
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
I have not succeeded in tracing any account of the original
discovery by Messrs. Sloane and Cavigh'a, but a tradition is recorded
in the guide books* that this magnificent piece of statuary was pre-
sented to the British nation by Muhammad 'Ali, on condition,
however, I believe, that it should be removed.
As the Colossus in its present mutilated state weighs close
upon 100 tons, the condition was never fulfilled, and for fully
sixty years tourists have seen only a weathered portion of the back
emerging from a pool of water. Fully assured that this shapeless
mass of limestone was the celebrated statue, they and their donkeys
have passed on to visit the more interesting Necropolis of Sakkara.
Mariette says of this statue t : —
" The statues of Rameses are so common that Science would
attach no importance to this one were it not that the head, modelled
with a grandeur of style which one never tires of admiring, is an au-
thentic portrait of the celebrated Conqueror of the XlXth dynasty."
He also says : — "There is every reason to suppose that it stood
facing North against a pylon "... "A second Colossus must have
corresponded with this one on the other side of the entrance."
I cannot agree with these latter remarks; the remains of the
pedestal foundation (now buried) clearly indicate that the statue
faced either East or West, and the fact that the back was boldly
decorated with hieroglyphics, does not support the idea of its having
stood against anything ; this would obviate the necessity of its having
stood by the side of an entrance, and consequently of there having
been a fellow to it.
Two attempts have been made to raise the heavy mass into a
position in which it could be examined and inspected more easily :
one by Mr. Garwood, then Locomotive Superintendent of the
Egyptian Railways; the other by Mr. Anderson, C.E., on behalf
of a nobleman who is now dead, but whose name I have un-
fortunately forgotten. Neither of these attempts were successful,
mainly owing to the fact that the appliances at the disposal of the
engineers were not sufficiently powerful.
General Sir F. Stephenson was, from the commencement of his
command, particularly anxious that this "Art Treasure" of the
British nation should be rescued from its undignified position, and
* Baedeker's Lozver Egypt, p. 361.
t Itineiaire de la Haute £g}'pie, p. iii, and note i.
453 2 N
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
in the early period of the EngHsh occupation a somewhat crude
proposal was made to haul it into an upright position by means of
ropes and chains.
In January, 1887, The Crrt/Z/zV published a sketch* by my friend
Mr. H. Wallis. The sketch represented the art treasure correctly
as seen by the majority of tourists, and all that was shown of the
statue resembled a sort of stone crocodile basking on the surface
of a pool of water.
The accompanying letterpress taunted the British army with
inaction in the matter, and our gallant General forthwith informed
his Commanding Royal Engineer that he wished the statue raised.
The execution of the work devolved upon myself. It was
first intended to erect the statue in situ, but in spite of some very
handsome donations from H. H. The Khedive, Their Excellencies
Nubar Pasha, Tigrane Pasha, Yakiib Pasha Artin, General Sir F.
Stephenson, &:c., &c., the funds obtained by subscription did not
reach the amount necessary to carry the project into execution, and
a more limited programme was adopted.
Work was commenced on the 20th January 1887 ; the hole in
which the statue lay was pumped out by means of two shadufs kept
going night and day.
This hole, the excavation made by the original discoverers, was
100 feet long by sixty feet wide at the top; the statue measured
thirty-eight feet six inches in length and twenty-seven feet in girth,
and its head was considerably lower than its legs. The centre of
the back, showing the faint remains of hieroglyphics on a large
scale, was six feet nine inches below the average inundation level,
the statue being seven feet six inches thick at this point.
On the 31st January I arrived at Bedrashen (.^j^,JoJl) in a
steamer, bringing with me a corporal and two sappers of the Telegraph
Section, Royal Engineers, under my command, to act as foremen.
In the steamer we brought 200 fir blocks each 12" x 12" x 12' 6",
300 railway sleepers, two 20-ft. baulks, four 8-ft. baulks, a chain
pump with horse gear, two 30-ton hydraulic jacks, four 40-ton
hydraulic jack^ (kindly lent by the Governor of Malta), two 100-ton
hydraulic jacks (lent by the Railway Administration of Egypt), twelve
double-headed iron rails, and a variety of other tools and appliances,
* Now reproduced with this paper.
454
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18SS.
camp equipment and materials,* including apparatus, &:c., for placing
our camp in telephonic communication with Cairo.
By the 4th February the pump was in good working order, and a
platform of crossed sleepers got in under the head.
After much jacking down of this platform into the mud, and
much driving of wedges, the head was raised one inch.
Gradually as we got the weight little by little on platforms of
crossed sleepers, the excavation under the statue proceeded from
the head towards the legs, until the 19th February, when it was level f
both ways, and the whole weight was resting on our timber platforms
bedded in the mud.
A large excavation was then commenced in search of the missing
feet, and the lifting process was fairly commenced.
The number of native workmen varied from 10 to 30 according
to requirements, exclusive of a small army of village boys which was
employed collecting broken potsherds from the ruins of IMemphis
hard by. As each timber support was removed the vacant space
was filled up with this material finely broken up and punned down.
The first vertical lift of three feet took us ten days, at the end
of which period we abandoned the search after the feet as useless.
A camp was formed at Mitrahineh on the 28th February, and having
collected a good supply of potsherd we commenced lifting again on
the 4th of March. Pumping ceased on the nth March, and by the
1 6th April the total lift was seventeen feet, the process having been
continuously the same. The legs and head were alternately raised
about two feet at a time. Three supports or piers of timber blocks
and sleepers were employed, and so arranged that any one of the
three could at any time be removed to allow for the getting in of the
potsherd beneath the statue.
Some 500 cubic yards of this material closely packed and rammed
formed a bed about 40' x 20' in plan, on which the Colossus
rested. The surface of this bed was now level with that of the
adjoining road. Four side struts and one head strut were employed
to steady the mass laterally and longitudinally as it rose, and on
these struts rough gantries of rails were arranged to facilitate the
shifting of the weighty jacks.
* A complete list of these appliances will be found in an appendix at the
end of this paper.
t A second sketch by Mr. H. Wallis, afterwards published in The Graphic, and
representing the statue at this stage of the work, is reproduced with this paper.
455 2 N 2
June 5] SOCIETV OF BIBLICAL ARCII.EOLOGY. [1888.
The native workmen directed by the Sappers showed much
intelhgence in the works, and used EngHsh wheelbarrows, picks
and shovels to good effect.*
About 200 yards to the north-east of the spot where the work
described had been carried on, there appeared above the surface of
a depression in the soil the left shoulder and crown of another
Colossus of pink granite. This Colossus was discovered by
Hekekyan Bey in 1852 when excavating for the London Geological
Society. It is smaller than that before referred to— weighing only
about sixty tons — is broken off above the ankles, and its nose is
mutilated ; but as I considered it quite worth getting out of the
reach of the waters of the Nile, I volunteered to move it for the
Bijlaq authorities, and to this end M. Grebaut provided a sum of
^"20 from his slender budget.
The work was commenced on the 17th April, and proceeded
simultaneously with that on the limestone Colossus, to which we
will now return.
As the subsoil water was now getting low, a well was commenced,
and a brickyard started to produce 100,000 sun-dried bricks for the
construction of the enclosure wall to protect our work.
The right side of the limestone statue was gradually lowered
48° until the stumps of both legs were level. Greased skidding was
placed under head and legs, and on the 6th May we pushed our
friend twelve feet to the southward to allow for the completion of the
turning movement. Pushing at him with jacks on the south side,
with a good bed of sleepers under the right arm, he reached the
vertical on the 13th May, and struts and jacks having been properly
arranged on the north side to take the weight, the statue lay over 10°
in that direction by the evening. This was a very delicate operation,
but was performed by my able foreman, corporal Sleigh, assisted
by .sappers Sharpe, Peckham, Christmas and Boswell, without a
hitch. In this position were taken the full-length photographs, one
of which is reproduced with this paper.
In five more days he was lowered successfully on to his back,
and was much in the same position as now,
* I mention this, as many European ent^ineers in I'^g^'pt maintain that the
native workmen are unable to make profitable use of European tools and ap-
pliances, more especially when carrying out earthwork : a selected Egyptian
hellah will when properly shewn, however, wheel a barruw with good effect.
JUNE 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Subsequently, two very large stones which had formed part of
the ancient pedestal were placed under the statue, as shown in the
plate; these stones were themselves bedded in cement concrete,
the statue itself being bedded in concrete upon the stones.
A strong enclosure wall was then built of sun-dried brick. At
the east end of the enclosure a small two-roomed house was con-
structed for the use of a watchman (or ,jJ-c ). Doors with strong
locks were provided for this house and for the enclosure. A
staging or gallery easily approached from within the enclosure by
a flight of wooden steps was erected above and across the end of
the beard.
From this gallery the magnificent proportions of the statue
can be well viewed.
A sun-shade of galvanized corrugated iron was fixed over the
breast and head, and finally a notice in English and Arabic, painted
on the door, fixed a tax of two Egyptian Piastres (about ^d.) on all
visitors. This tax is collected by the watchman, and forms his sole
reward for continuous attendance and for executing such minor
repairs to the enclosure as may be necessary from time to time.
The plate represents the final disposition of the work.
I will now return to the second Colossus of pink granite.
In removing the earth and debris on each side of the monolith we
came down upon a floor of large blocks of stone through which the
Colossus had crushed in its fall. This is the floor I referred to as
indicating a temple site.* The back of the figure is quite flat and
incised in very bold hieroglyphic cartouches and titles of Rameses
the Great.
The getting out of this statue was a comparatively simple
affair. First, after sufficient excavation, we jacked it over on to its
flat back, then raised it and placed it on oak rollers running on
sleepers. It was then partly pulled with wire tackle and partly
* M. Grebaut proposes to gradually trench up the whole of this site, and
it is expected that many interesting discoveries will be made. The operation is
a difficult one to arrange, as the site forms the principal maize-field from which
the village of Mitrahineh obtains its supplies of that cereal. A narrow strip will
have to be taken up annually and compensation paid — the half of this strip will
then have to be excavated and the earth thrown out on to the other half — this
earth being thrown back into the excavation before the inundation,
457
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [1888.
pushed with hydraulic jacks some sixty feet up an incline of one
in seven. A gentler slope was then reached, and it was found
that the oak rollers crushed, and greased skidding had to be sub-
stituted. A rough road was cleared southward to the summit of a
neighbouring hillock (/♦j^), in reality a mud-brick ruin. Hauling
tackle was then alone employed. To a wire strap passed round the
beard were secured two treble 8-inch blocks, a flexible steel wire
hawser* (about as thick as my little finger) was rove through these
blocks and through two double and one single block secured as far
ahead as possible. This gave an initial power of 12 to i. Both ends
of the hawser were brought out to crab capstans, each worked by
four to eight men. The progress of our sledge and its burden varied
from five to fifty-seven feet per day, and on the 25th June the statue
was in position, having been moved 130 yards horizontally and lifted
vertically twenty-three feet five inches. It was then bedded down on
three supports, so arranged that the inscription on the back can be
easily inspected from below. The crown was placed upright beside
the statue, a life-size double bust of Ptah and Rameses, found in
process of excavation, keeping it company.
The statue is of pink granite from the Aswan quarries, and has
been covered all over with a fine skin of lime (Ijys-), which was
probably used as a basis for pigment of some kind.
The crown and part of the forehead are in a separate block,
weighing about 3^ tons, but unfortunately a slice has been wedged
off the lower end of the block, probably to form a millstone.
The block was originally secured to the head by a huge mortice
and tenon joint.
The cartouches on this statue are almost precisely the same as
those on the limestone statue, but the pectoral ornament shows signs
of having been cut over some other ornament, so that it is probable
that the Colossus has been misappropriated.
The wristband of the right arm still bears the original red and
yellow pigment with which the cartouches had been decorated.
The right hand grasps a seal of office (described by some as a
scroll).
The left hand holds an object which I take to be a purse.
* Composed of 6 strands round a central hemp core, each strand being made
up of 12 steel wires, each '032 in. diameter, themselves laid round a hemp core.
458
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [188S.
On the right side of the left leg is carved a small figure of a son,
probably Meri-en-Ptah, and on the left side of the leg is a very beauti-
ful life-sized carving of Bent Anat, her name and titles being fully set
forth.
M. Grebaut has had a plaster matrix made of this carving, and
has promised me a cast for the British Museum.
A large quarry crack extends diagonally through the left arm, and
the dovetailed slots in the granite show that metal cramps have been
employed to prevent further mischief. Further excavations will
probably bring the feet to light.
Yet another monument was rescued from the alternate action
of the Eastern sun and the waters of the summer flood.
A stela of the XXVIth dynasty measuring 10' x 5' 2" x 2' 6", and
weighing ten tons, was dragged up from the low ground and erected
facing the north beside the granite Colossus. This stela is thus
described by Mariette : — " Apries had increased the endowments
of the temple of Vulcan, and had enlarged the temple itself, for
the service of which he had made several lakes or canals. The
stela was intended to preserve the remembrance of those benefits."
I have not given a detailed account of the limestone Colossus,
as the photographs and sketches will speak for themselves.
A few hints as to the gear necessary for moving heavy weights
may however prove useful.
In lifting or pushing there is no machine so handy as the
hydraulic jack, which, if once in good order, can be manipulated
by any native of ordinary intelligence.
For packing, railway sleepers are very handy. Short blocks of fir
ten to twelve inches square, and thirty to thirty-six inches long,
are exceedingly useful for building up supports. They can be built
up like bricks in a wall. These sleepers and blocks should however
be carefully cut to uniform sizes, otherwise difficulty and delay is
experienced in the building up.
Oak pieces are necessary to distribute the strain of a jack over
several sleepers, and to use between the jack-head and the object
moved.
Sawyers dogs are necessary to bind the timber pieces, &c.,
together. Iro/i rails can be advantageously used for a variety of
purposes. In hauling, whether up hill, down hill, or on the level, I
think that greased skidding is superior to rollers, especially on soft
ground. Hemp rope is of little use for heavy work. Flexible steel
459
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
wire hawsers are superior in every way. They run well round
blocks, and grip well on a capstan, do not stretch, and are very
reliable when of good quality.
Blocks should be specially selected to suit the cordage used,
whether of hemp or steel. Hooks on blocks are risky good strong
eyes with shackles are infinitely preferable. Some stranded steel
wire (say 3-strands of 18 S.W.G.) is very handy for making straps
and binding generally.
For hauling on cordage, whether of wire or hemp, nothing in my
opinion, beats the crab-capstan, which should, however, be made
as light and portable as possible. (This class of capstan is much
easier to fix than is a winch.)
x\n hydraulic pulling-jack would also at times be of great use
for short heavy pulls.
It seems to me a wicked waste of money * to employ scores and
fifties of natives to shout and haul on tackle, when a few picked
men can do the same work with a winch or capstan or jack.
Let us now consider the ultimate destiny of the two Colossi now
reposing on their backs at Memphis.
The pink granite Colossus is, I think, very fairly secure where it
now lies. The Egyptian Department of Antiquities intended to
build an enclosure around it, and I hope this work is either done
or in progress. As its nose is mutilated, I do not think it will suffer
much from the natives, and the tourists will have some difficulty
in incising the hard Aswan granite.
The beautiful figure of Bent Anat carved on the left leg is well
worthy of careful preservation, and with this view I was particular
to impress on the natives of the neighbourhood that this carving
represented that daughter of Pharaoh who rescued their prophet
Miisa from the waters of the Nile. It is not my fault if they now
think that any damage done to her face will cause the image breaker
to be smitten with blindness, his first-born to die, and his women-
kind to be barren.
As to the limestone Colossus, no pains or expense should, if
necessary, be spared to prevent any possibility of further mutilation.
The excellent state ot preservation of the face and body and right
side renders this work of art almost unicjue.
* The method generally in vogue in the Egj'ptian Department of Antiquities,
for want of a stock of suitable appliances.
460
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
Many have wished that it should be re-erected in situ. To my
mind this would be an absolute folly. To rear up a huge figure of a
man so that it would be conspicuous to many densely populated
villages of Egyptian Musselmans would be to court its destruction, for
it must be remembered that it is not superstitious ignorance that
causes them to injure such works of art, but it is rather that they are
driven to such acts by the puritanical anti-idolatry which is at the very
root of their religion.
There is no engineering difficulty in shipping the Colossus to
England. It is no more difficult to handle than is a 100-ton gun,
and I do not think the move would be a very costly one if properly
managed.
But on arrival where should we put it ? I do not think that such
a weight would be allowed over the London streets. Again the
money already spent (some ^280) was subscribed on condition that
this art treasure of the British nation should remain in Egypt, and if
we decide to remove it from Egypt we must commence by refunding
this money, a proceeding which would cause much offence. The
stream of sentiment on this question is running very strong. I
understand that there is actually a probability of the New York
Obelisk for example being brought back to Alexandria.
The Bulaq Museum buildings are not suited for the reception of
objects of the height of our Colossus. Perhaps some day, however,
the Bulaq Museum will be either removed or greatly enlarged.
Would not this masterpiece of the Nineteenth Dynasty then more
fitly keep company with the splendid portrait of Chephren, and with
the Shekh-El-Beled, rather than with the dismal surroundings of our
smoky city ?
For the present therefore let us leave well alone. Our art
treasure might yet be further protected where it now rests. Further
embankments might be made to ward off the effects of a very high
flood. A more suitable and permanent structure might be built,
and the statue entirely protected from the fierce summer sun.
Perhaps three years' residence in Egypt has made me somewhat
Egyptian, but I must confess that I think we should do better to
urge the reorganization of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities,
than to endeavour to bring any of Egypt's choicest monuments to
these shores.
Why should not all the existing monuments of Egypt be
461
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
[15
gradually rescued from the ever rising floods of the Nile — from the
summer sun — the damp night mists, and the driving sand ?
I contend that by judicious enclosing, and by the imposition
of fairly heavy fees on tourists * visiting these monuments, funds
could be obtained to maintain a real conservancy.
It is, I venture to think, our direct duty as occupiers of Egypt
to promote action in this direction, and if by my humble efforts
at Memphis I shall have in any way encouraged others to pursue
the course I have just indicated, I shall then look back upon my
work with justifiable pride and pleasure.
^APPENDIX.
List of Camp EqJiipmeJit, Tools, Appliances, and Materials employed
in raising the two Colossi at Memphis.
ARTICLES.
Camp Equipment.
Bedsteads (portable), bedding,
camp kettles, chairs, tables,
&c., for 4 Europeans.
Tents, Indian pattern, Double-
Pole (Cotton)
Tools.
Carpenters' tools, complete in
chest sets
Masons' tools, complete, in
chest sets
Axes, pick
Uars, boring, i5"x6'
„ crow, 5'
No.
0.
Bars, crow, 4' ....
2
Hammers, sledge
6
Mauls,
wood, iron-hooped
10
Stones
grhid
1
Tape,
neasuring
I
I
Vices,
standing, 36 lbs.
Appliances.
I
Barrows, wheel...
12
I
Blocks
, " Bothway's," 8" single
I
,, „ snatch
1
I
„ double
0
10
„ „ treble
0
0
malleable iron, 4" double
2
2
,, ,, 5" snatch
2
* Messrs. T. Cook and Son took 800 tourists up the Nile during the winter of
1886-7 ; everyone of these probably visited Memphis en route, besides many
more hundreds who made the excursion from Cairo.
462
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[188?.
No.
Buckets, iron, galvanized,
Cans, water (for filling jacks)
Carts, Maltese ...
„ tip
Cordage : —
Hemp, tarred, 6" fathoms
„ white
Manilla
Hemp,spunyarn,3-thread lbs.
Steel, flexible, ih" fathoms
Capstans, "crab," frames, etc.
„ „ bars
Chain-cable, |".... fathoms
Drums or reels, for wire rope....
Dogs, iron, sawyers', 12"
Gauges, pressure, hydraulic (to
indicate to 3 tons per inch)....
Hose-pipe, india rubber, ^in.
yards
Jacks, hydraulic (Tangye's) 30-
ton .... ....
Jacks, hydraulic (Tannett and
Walker's), 40-ton
Jacks, hydraulic (Tangye's) 100-
ton
Ladders, light, 1 5ft., in 2 pieces
Pumps, " Bastier," chain, 25in.
with horse gear, to lift 20ft.
Rails, iron, double-headed, with
chairs....
20
250
113
120
10
113
4
4
I
40
Rammers, iron-headed
Rollers, oak 3'6"x6" ....
No.
6
60
Materials.
Cotton waste .... .... .... 50
Cement, Portland barrels
as required.
Grease, cart or wagon.... cwts. 2
I ndia rubber sheet, i" thick lbs. 10
Iron, galvanized, corrugated,
sheets 30
Lead, red lbs. 4
Lime .... .... cwts. as required.
Nails, iron, spike 8 in lbs. 10
), » J, 10 in „ 20
» „ cut, 2 in „ 10
Oil, Rangoon .... gallons. 2
„ sweet „ 6
„ kerosine .... .... „ 6
Screws, for wood, \\ in. doz. 6
Tallow, Russian .... lbs. 100
Timber, fir : —
Blocks, 2'o"x I2"x 12" .... 200
Baulks, 20' X 1 2" XI 2" .... 2
„ 8'xio"xio" .... 4
Plank, 9"x|" .... ft. run. 150
*Sleepers, 7' x 10" x 7" .... 300
Timber, oak : —
Pieces, 5'o"x ii"X5" .... 6
Wire, steel, galvanized,
3-strand, 18 S.W.G. cwt. I
* Wedges were made from these as required : one sleeper being cut into four
wedges.
The above list is intended as a rough guide for any person
who may set out to raise or move some heavy monument.
463
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[li
ON A BABYLONIAN WEIGHT WITH A TRILINGUAL
INSCRIPTION.
By E. a. Wallis Budge, M.A.
There is in the Babylonian collection of the British Museum
a green basalt weight of the time of Darius for 2 manas, 1 shekel ;
it is inscribed with a trilingual cuneiform inscription in Persian,
Susian, and Babylonian. So far as I know it is unique. The
object measures 2 x i^ x i3^ in., and is numbered BU. 257;
it weighs 2,573 grains Troy.
The texts read : —
I. Persian.
I
M- H << m
2
m n -ItT a n m H
3
r<- -y^ <n <? A «IT <<■
4
m r<- l<f n r<- \ -]B
5
M H T^ ^ S rr <^
6
^ItT tTt r^ ^ <^< r<- m
7
^ ^ <TT fr A <^< «rT
8
m -TtI -< n <^ n T<-
Tra7isliteratio7i.
I II K(a)-r(a)-sha-a
2
A - da - m \ Da - a - ra
3
ya - va - u - sh "^ Kh - sha ■
4
a - ya - th - i - ya '^ va -
5
z - ra - ka \ V - i - sh
6
ta - a - s - pa - h - ya - a
7
'^ p - u - tra '^ Ha - kha -
8
a - ma - ni - i - sh - i - ya
464
JUXE 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[18S8.
That is, II Karasha(?). Adam Darayavaush Khshayathiya vazraka
Vishtaspahya putfa Hakhamanishiya.
Translation.
" Two / {am) Darius, king great, Hystaspes' son, the
Achaetiietiian."
II. SUSIAN.
I
]) t< ? j^TT-
2
r m r ^-]] -m
3
^fT ]m < ^TT T
W
4
-m ¥ ^TTT -mh r
<^r
5
::^!T ^-TT I^ H ¥
^^
6
-ITK T ?{- -^- -r
tz
7
<- <h t^fi
Transliteration.
I II No(?)-sa-m
2
I
U y Da - ri -
3
ya
-va-u-s y ko(?)
4
ir-
sa - r - ra y Vi -
5
is-
ta - as - ba sa - ak -
6
ri
y A - ak - ka - man -
7
n(
i)-si-ya
That is, II Nosam(?) I u{?) Dariyavaus ko(?) irsarra Vistasba
sakri Akamanisiya.
Translation.
Darius, king great, Hystaspes' son, the AcJiaemenian.
465
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL^iOLOGY.
[1888.
The transliteration is chiefly that laid down by Norris. Ac-
cording to Dr. Oppert the ideograph for ' king,' ]]]iz should be
read 7oia/i or sunhi. See Le Peuple et la Langue des iMedes, p. 46.
III. Babylonian.
I
jd ^r ^4
2
r Elf T w] n -rr<T a- rif ^^<
3
?^^ ^y- m i^
4
I :i^T :x^^r |EE ^
5
r T? 5< « « <r- 4-
Transliteration.
1 YT ma - na
2 I tu y Da-a-ri-'i-a-vus
3 sarru rabu - u apil
4 T Us - ta - az - pa
5 y A-ha-man-nis-si-'i
Translation.
Two-thii'ds of a niana,
one shekel. Darius,
king great, son of
Hystaspes,
the Achaemeniaji.*
* ' Achaemenian ' is here spelled as in the inscription from Kerman, 1. 4.
See Bezold, Die Achdmininschriftcn, p. Si.
466
June 5] TROCEEDINGS. [1SS8.
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE EXODUS GEOGRAPHY.
By Max Muller,
I need not explain how difificult, from the want of monuments
and the nature of the country, is the geography of the whole Delta
of Egypt, and especially that of the western part, about which the
most celebrated Egyptologists are very little in harmony. M. Naville's
excavations have now fixed an important point as certain, and enabled
us to draw conclusions for the geography of the eastern frontier,
which is so important and interesting also for the unlearned, because
of its connection with Biblical traditions, and, above all others, with
the much discussed and diiificult question of the Exodus, or at least
the geographical traditions for it. For it is even now not more
determined than the land of Sukkot, at the end of the Wadi Tumilat,
and with the following attempt to fix another point in the frontier-
line, I can give nothing else than some preparatory remarks for future
studies.
No town of the eastern Delta frontier has greater importance than
^^ An 6a-n/, which was not only its largest town, but also
the principal point for the defence of the entrance to Egypt, there-
fore also for the military and mercantile roads to the East. Some
remarks about it I was obliged to make in the essay on the great
stele of Har-m-hebc* in which is contained the remarkable fact, that
in the time of this king 0a-rii was a predecessor of the later Rhino-
colura as a colony of deported criminals, who were marked by the
cutting off of their noses, and probably settled, not in the town itself
but in the eastern country around the little forts. For the situation of
ea-7'u I could and can give no indication. Brugsch wished to identify
it with Tanis — Zo'an,f and has repeated his opinion very frequently
but with no convincing reason. Diimichen, Geschichte Aegyptens,
p. 258, sequ., has refuted it definitively, and it seems to be given up
* At this moment under the press for the Aeg. Zeitschrift.
t The most unsustainable of all comparisons is that with "iy\' , "lyiV Zoirjpa,
Znyf^ip, which is so well known to have been situated in the neighbourhood of the
Dead Sea. And how can an y be inserted ?
467
JuxE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1S88.
also by others. But the position at the end of the Wadi Tumilat
(Diimichen's map, p. 242) is not to be maintained after Naville's
discoveries, which certainly would have shown some indications of
the neighbourhood of Oa-ru, had it been near the country of Sukkot.
Apparently it must be situated in a more northern country and
not too far from Pelusium, because behind 9a-rH, the land both of
civilized Canaanites and nomadic Bedouins began ; and according to
the strategic purpose, not in a more southern country than the
Birket-Timsah, or even according to the modern roads, the Birket-
Ballah, but the last supposition I will express only as a thought. I
do not venture to use the canal (?), which divided the proper town
of Oa-ru from its eastern fortified part " the fortress of ea-rii '■
in the way commonly
0^0 'J^ ' j2^ ]
nzi V>^ I t^^^
followed. I cannot help doubting whether it is really an artificial canal
as is so often supposed. In the famous representation of Seti I's
return to Egypt (Lepsius, Denkmdler, 128, Burton, Exc. Hierogl.,
36, etc.) it is a narrow water, because it is bridged over between the
two parts of the town, but its character is that of an old and stagnant
branch of water derived in southern direction from another branch of
the river, which flows from west to east (in the representation, one
could believe the contrary). Not only the immense number of cro-
codiles in it but also the reedy margins* seem to express that character,
and besides I can find no indication of an excavated canal in the
inscriptions. At least, nobody could be less the founder than Seti I,
who found in his first year that line of water, but it must be an old
one, or Oa-ru would have been formerly without water. I do not
know whether it is possible to trust the accuracy of the Theban
artist and to believe that Oa-ru really was so closely near the crossing
of the two branches, which could not be elsewhere than in a north-
western direction from Daphnge. But he may have taken liberties
also with approaching that point, as he certainly did with the little
fortresses. Then that would be the best place where the great
* E. Meyer, Geschichte Aegyptens, p. 279, declares the reed to be palisades.
I know no example of palisades of that form, and suppose that the ornaments on
llie margin of the water yyyY must represent reed, which commonly has
the form 1| ^ %. Brugsch has the same opinion, Geschichte Aegyptens, p. 459.
The form of the reed is according to the drawings unusual, but I find no other
explanation.
468
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
road from the east crosses the narrowest part of the water between
the Birket Ballah and the lake of Menzaleh, where Brugsch in his
map of Lower Egypt would find the place of '■At-sestu, only a little
more in an eastern direction. But I feel it strongly, that with maps
it is not possible to obtain an intelligence of the formation of the
country without personal knowledge of it, for the small branches of
water have mostly changed their course and especially all the condi-
tions in the north-eastern angle of the Delta seem to be now quite
different. Therefore I will revoke this quite hypothetical supposition
most willingly in favour of any other place which corresponds to the
conditions demanded by the sculptures of Karnak.
The first of them is the neighbourhood of an extensive water.
That is confirmed also by Pap. Anastasi IV, 15, 7, where are
mentioned
i ^/ww^ _Zr I I I Jr _^l L=/l 1^^ I [^£^
"«;2-fishes eviscerated of 0a-rii."*
An export of prepared fishes indicates of course more than
a little canal.
But the principal point is the situation on the extreme frontier,
for it is the last Egyptian town, and the small fortresses for the
protection of the great road and its springs and cisterns, which
Seti's artist represents by contraction of all distances, as in the
closest neighbourhood of 9a-ru, are regarded as Syrian places, as
we see from their enumeration, Pap. Anastasi I, 27. All kings
reckon the commencement of their campaigns from the day of
passing the eastern gates of 0ari{, as Seti I (L. D. Ill, 126 and
■ a8) and Ramses II ( ^ ^ f sl 1^ ® ^ II ll & III
song of the battle of Qades, Karnak, line 7). For our purpose
it is enough to know that.
W
1
Certainly not " Zor-Tyriis" which cnn be written only
t'a-v-a or similarly, not Qa-7-u. That afterwards in the XXth Dynasty the con-
fusion of 1^ and I '^ became complete, should not induce us to form the
rule from this abuse. In the most barbarously written of all lists, that of Ra'mses III
(D.H.I. I, II, 12), ^^ \\ v\ ^„ -, Qa-iiu-ra can be a "IIV, but it is neither
necessary nor probable.
469 2 O
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.'EOLOGY. [1888.
Nobody will contest that Oa-rii is no Egyptian name but a foreign
and of course Semitic one. That is proved by the constant syllabic
orthography with the two signs (antiquated in Egyptian words) ^^
and _g:^. Also the determinative of a foreign country "^ is not
without significance. That 9ar is no Egyptian root is clear. Almost
all the names of the frontier are Semitic (as Migdol, Suklcot), or
exist also in Semitic and afterwards Greek translation (as Amt Sin-
Pelusium, etc.), for the population was always mixed, a fact long
proved and emphasized by most Egyptologists.*
But nothing is so difficult as the transcription in Semitic letters
of syllabically written words, the signification of which is not de-
termined. The more easy question is here, whether -^:^ represents
a "^ or 7. Fortunately we have a variant for the word l^'SjXl
fK^ [in IK mA ea-ra-i"-na, which shows that if any distinc-
tion between / and r was madef the Egyptian pronounced here
an r.
Extremely difficult is the value of ^v^ in the imperfect and
soon much confused syllabic system. Formerly it was commonly
regarded as a mere variant of A ^v , t'a, and only Erman (Aeg.
Zeitschr., 1883, 64) has pointed to the real old Egyptian value
6a. Unfortunately this notice has found no sufficient estimation
(in spite of the mention, page 22) in Bondi's book about the Semitic
words in Egyptian, J which is to be quoted on this question, and
therefore I try to explain again what till now is known of this
question.
* Ebers, Aegypten und die Biicher Mosis, etc.
+ Till now I can find no rule for this question, for nobody has proved what was
the original pronunciation of <::zr>. In the New Empire the Egyptian may have
had r and /, but how it came that only in Demotic is made a very arbitrary
distinction by means of separating -^^ for / and _2:^ for r (originally both
sounded ru), and whether attempts were made to separate the two consonants
also in a former period, is quite unknown.
X " Dem hebr'aisch phonizischen Sprachzwcige angehorige Lehnwcirter."
Leipzig, 1886. I wonder that this useful book has been so little noticed.
Undoubtedly it is the greatest progress in that respect since Brugsch's studies
in his " Geographische Inschriften." I would only wish that the collection of
Semitic words were a quite complete one.
470
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The pronunciation of the old consonant s=3 is not certain,
and I doubt whether the comparison with the hsped th is quite'
sufficient. Its consequent pronunciation belongs to an almost pre-
historic time, for in the end of the Old Empire (Vth and Vlth
Dynasty) the greater part of all g > were changed into o,* the
smaller afterwards into '^, or better the s=>, which had origin-
ally in the scale of consonants its place between c:^ and "'^^j '^'^s
amalgamated to the two most cognate consonants. To the rarer
case, where it becomes ''^*=^, shall apparently belong all words
with the sign ^., 6a (the only exception seems T"H'Jf : OHOT
for 6au) according to the opinion of the scribes in the New
Empire.
But theoretically ^_ was not regarded as being quite identical
with \ ^N,, t(i. Still in the Middle Empire these two signs were
well distinguished, and therefore in syllabic writing ^^ expresses
not a kind of / but of 5-, and is used for another Semitic consonant
as A v\ , t'a, or ^T^ , /'/, which stand mostly for ^j. How far in
the New Empire that was conventional or founded upon the living
pronunciation in Egyptian words, is difficult to decide. Even in
foreign words, which have become the property of the vulgar
(L.D. Ill, loa; Bologna, pap. 1094, 6, 8; 11, 10; Harris, 500,
verso 2, 10, etc.), or LJ ^^ \-^ (L.D. Ill, 183b, 219c; Liebl.
diet., 388, 975; Mariette, Abydos III, 1140; Pap. Turin, 85, 2), which
in the XXth Dynasty is often written [_J ^^ ^ 7\ (L.D. Ill, 218c,
D.H.I. II, 47a, R.I.H. 209). Thus in Coptic all similar words
* In that way Erman's remarks (A.Z., 18S2, 9) are to be completed. Even in
the inscriptions of the pyramids this fact is remarkable, cf. | (sk) y \j \j
Unas 209 {nQr Tta 202, etc.), "^^^^^J 0 fl Tta 321 ='^2v^J 0
Unas 504, X {sic) (" this oil ") Unas 60. The J^ — ^ treated by
Erman seems to be originally stp (Ppi 39, 183, 123, Tta 287, etc, L.D. II, 92 !.),
for s&p (Unas 595, Tta 303, 329) is rarer.
471 202
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1888.
show X for 6. Perhaps in the commencement of the New Empire
the distinction was still heard in pronunciation. But even before
the XXth Dynasty it seems quite traditional and difficult for the
scribe.
The common s=> without addition of vowels has commonly no
other value than /, even in foreign words.* The Semitic value is, as in
the whole syllabic system, announced by three syllabic signs : ^^ ,
ea, , 6u, and , 9i (rarely used).t Only the vowel is
different, the consonant is always the same, and Bondi is with the
separation of 6a from Ou quite wrong. His examples for 6a he
himself compares with Semitic D- Besides, we see that best by a
variant: the word ^^ ^^ ^ ^' ^^-^^-^''-"'^y "cuirass," is
written, Pap. Mallet, i, 5 <ir> IS, i^ Ou-tra-na, therefore is
eu = Oa.l Variants with /' as J '^^^^^V ^-^ ^"^^ (D.H.I. I,
5 6r, of the end of the XlXth Dynasty) are not correct,§
apparently they depend upon the more recent time.
* How it comes that in this orthography in some cases {iui not generally .')
L til (later te, ti), and g >, d, the origin of which is so utterly different, can be
changed, I cannot yet explain. In Ptolemaic time g > was regarded as //'.
If r ^ I , A o I - is the older form, and not /v^^^va r- we can
0 t^Lj\ Dill W=ZI I I I Wii
reduce the Coptic X(JL3(J0pG : X(JOp to a tiore, tiorre, which would suggest
the supposition that the reasons for the change of Q into X were similar as those
of Latin t into Italian z. I give this remark with all reserve.
+ In the whole system only one or two of the syllabic signs were used, mostly
those with a ; those with \s^ were always less favoured. But in some cases it
seems that the simple letter is regarded as equivalent of the z-forni as here,
perhaps, ^^ for
w
1 Cf. also S^' §>= = ^ 5> Anast. V, 16, 2, Sail. I, 6, 7.
§ Other examples of this mistake : perhaps rr^^ (>^f H' ^^'^''^t. inscr. ,
Brugsch, W., 738, etc., derived from nV^,, Piel, " pra-cinere " ?
472
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The question would be much easier, if we had a knowledge of
the actual early pronunciation of '"'-^^ .
Its Greek transcriptions with t and ^* do not permit us to
decide what preceded the Coptic X) dj. That in former time it
expressed t ^nd ^ makes it doubtful whether it corresponded accu-
rately with one of both letters.
Considering that 0, as syllabic sign, has at least a similar value
as t\ and more that of an s (D> see below), we could believe that it
corresponds very closely with '\. Unfortunately the examples for 0
and f are rare. Till now is known only (y^-^ ^ — i^)"^^)
and I can add only one of no certain value, the nime J^
, M-n-a-Qa-7ia\ (Mariette, Abydoa II, 50; III,
113), perhaps |_'ti*^"'j5'? bin-oz?i{i). The second form is isolated and
of no early period, therefore I am not sure whether it is possible to
keep the value of t for 0, as the point from which the others could
be derived.
The regular value of 0a, 0u is that of an s. I regard it as the
only correct one. Examples for D : —
W ''"ff ' ^''-''''-^''^ v^' "meal."
f^Sf s'J ^ '^1 0(t-ra-{'-?ia (or 0u-ra-na, vide supra).
I'i'^'^p, " cuirass." (Bondi, p. 87, but not to be placed with t'a.)
^^ -^ <c:r>irT], 0a-ka-ira, "li^lD, "closure, wall." Most
remarkable is that we find the same word (Anast. V, 19) as
* With <T I know no certain example. ^, z, 9 were wanting in that period,
and for the Persian and Greek consonant the Egyptian must use the composition
t Not " Ben-Mat'ana," as it was read. '^''T' has in words of Egyptian, or
at least earlier origin, the value of the Middle Empire •='fe^ ; in words which are
not older than the Neo- Egyptian it is N, [l. I cannot determine its peculiarities ;
it seems to form the middle between 0 QA, that is K without accent, and the long
473
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIIyEOLOGY. [18S8.
S ^R\ <c=r>3 t^^' ^-^^-^'^^ ^^'ith -f (^ and g exist also in Semitic
dialects. Bondi, p. 88).*
LJ^^'lifl ^ , ka-ea-ta, nD3, "covering," Bondi, 51.
The word / ^^^ -ry^ xi-"''<^-0(i D-H.I I, 22, 27, "force,
violence," can be ^H (more in the Arabic sense), but in Hebrew
exists also a form V^H-
Also ^ "^ j| eu-fi, ^^'0, Coptic zoonrq, and ^ ^ "l ^
which corresponds probably with H uD 1 are here to be named with
some words which at a later time preserve 0 as ^ without the
inherent vawel, as <rz=> (1(1 Orri "agger obsidionalis " (Pianxi, 32 ;
Aeg. Z., 1875, 7), r-\^b and ^ /^ Off "to pour out," ^'1^
(Aeg. Z., 1882, 94; i?^r. </^ fHon., 3, 41, etc.), although the last is the
same as the Egyptian root 1 ^ j^.
* Here I must remark that the use of 0 as j can be almost wholly avoided.
It seems often to depend upon the taste of the scribe. Thus in Dhutmose Ill's
list of Upper RQnu we find no certain example of it (No. 4 is once corrupted),
whilst in his list of Naharin it abounds. Still more significance has its wanting in
the list of Sosenq. It seems not casual that we find there likewise no s, with
exception, perhaps, of the mutilated name No. 51 n | ~ }" % I conclude that the
redacting scribe had the opinion that Semitic s must be always S. No earlier
.scribe would have transcribed the name nblti* of Juda otherwise than su-ku{e)
or similarly, for not only every ^, but in many cases even every tJ' becomes l| in
Kg)'ptian,— but he gives (No. 37) TtT«T 1] ^ U ' ^3^' ^^-aii-ka (K(JO). In
other respects he is pretty accurate, so that his treatment of the sibilants has cer-
tainly a signification, perhaps also for the confusion of s and 5 in 0 which is
mentioned below. For the traditional orthography of words frequently used this
liberty is restricted.
+ I suppose the original orthography ^-^ ^— ^ j ® has been abbreviated
according to calligraphic reasons. Certainly F.bers (Aeg. Z., 1885, 49) is right even
if this equation should not be confirmed. The critic of the Athcnmwt seems to
have no knowledge of Egyptological literature, because he contests so well
known facts,
474
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
This value of D has been remarked partially already by Brugsch
(Aeg. Z., 1875).* It forms the rule for the syllabic values of 6. But
considering the fluctuation between the sibilants and the following
examples, I declare that 0 corresponds also with an Hebrew t!?.
Others may decide whether this was effected by a pronunciation of 6
which is between s and s (which would explain the transition into dj,
X), or by the influence of other Semitic dialects.
The example X< <z:=> 13111 qA Ou-pa-ira for i5 1\27,
"trumpet," is explained by a variant ="^ DID, which in Hebrew does
not exist. But also the above-mentioned &'ri''n, Qa-ra-i'^-na has in
Hebrew \2J. The Bible contains only in Jeremiah two examples for
p'^'^p, but four times l^l^, three times ]^1^, and even in the Book
of Job, with its peculiar character of language, H^l^. Therefore we
must take the two examples literally for the equation Q^=^s. I
will add only the most certain of the other examples I collected ;
all the others are found unfortunately in mutilated passages, and I
prefer to wait for their publication. — Pap. Anast. II, 7, 2, I find
Ik 1^^ "^^^ ^ /wwvA ^ ^ "the thrashing-stick." The
identity of da-ba-t or Qa-bi-i with the word t5?^tl?, which commonly
is written LH^^ J^^ Mallet, i, 7; Turin, 39, 7; jjlj "^^
J"^^"^^ Sallier I, 6, 6 ; Turin, 3, 10; Harris I, 6, 6 ; JtTJ "^^
I Q^ Anast. V, 16, 6; Harris, 500, 10, 3,t seems evident, even if
the third consonant is a / and no d, for we find also 1 \\ 1 \ ^o^^^
{JR.ec. trav., 7, 190; generally t^ is sometimes /, sometimes d). The
* Very strange it is, that the Egyptian used for the Semitic D with preference a
peculiar sign, whilst his own s was by the Hebrews always represented with D, cf.
Diins, Dppyi, D.5n, Dn^snFi, n:px, n:.i,p^ etc.
t The gender is in Coptic masculine, but in earlier time "roww?<«^"as in
Hebrew, therefore we find often the feminine termination O, which here (also
after ni^lQ, etc., very often, Bondi, Nos. 24, 37, 38, 50, and pag. 46 qautat ;
Bondi should have mentioned this frequent use) is a mere determinative. In
Demotic texts the feminine use predominates. Setna 4, 35 ; 5, 38. 9'-'J^ "^
ibte does not express it, but Chron. Paris 3, 28 ^ j/^^S^ te-ibote* ( — Shot ?) does so
doubly.
475
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL^OLOGY. [1SS8.
t here, where probably the first word has no accent, must sound and
is no sunple e.
With these examples I propose the transcription "^tl? or "^^ for
our Qa-rii. The form "^^ is not possible after all that has been
said above, and also '^^ is not probable, in so old a name only ^D,
"^t? or "^ly can be proposed. As to the vocalization, it seems
according to the orthography that of the common words with two
radicals : <?6r. Egyptian 6 is in all Semitic dialects represented by
'\ox\cf. ''^-:^^ |Jv] early Ms, later kos, KUJCIJ, Hebrew t2J^3, Assyrian
ktisu {kilsu), etc.
After these long preliminaries I propose to identify our Oaru, Sor,
^^r with the Egyptian town "^^t^ ("the wall") named in the Bible.
An old tradition about its situation is not preserved. The LXX
transcribe only "Slovp, therefore also Josephus (Antiqu., VI, 7, 2) seems
to guess with his " Pelusium," the more because this town is probably
rp. But nothing disagrees with the above proposed identifica-
tion. According to i Samuel xv, 7 is D";")!*^ \^9"^i^ "^^^-^^ "^^ilj
'S.ovp erri irpoawTTov Aiyvvrrov (LXX), the first of all Egyptian towns,
more an advanced place before the frontier line than a place /;/ it (?)
and the end of the land of Amalek, therefore more in the northern
or middle part of the frontier. That it was a fortress is expressed
by the name, and is the common opinion. All squares with Oa-rii,
also the form of the name after the above given explanations. The
Egypto-Semitic form may be rather an Arabic ^ ».><.■, but in Hebrew
the corresponding form can well be a "^^tT-*
The explanation of the name is clear by the connection with the
name of the " Wall of Egypt " which is mentioned in the papyri of
Petersburg (Aeg. Z., 1876, 109) and Berlin I, as "the wall of the
prince which forbids the Asiatics to invade." It was built therefore
already in the Old Empire, at least in the Vlth Dynasty. Whether
it is mentioned in Una's inscription (line 15) cannot be said with
certainty. That the principal point of this fortification received the
Semitic name "the wall" is very clear. The name 6dr will be
Semitic and may come from the commencement of the New or the
* Of course I do not affirm that we have here really an Arabic form, Init
nobody will contest that already in that time Semitic dialects met in the isthmus
of Suez, and that the little uncertainty in the distinction of the sibilants there
must increase for the Egj'ptians.
476
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
end of the Middle Empire. Although it is not necessary for the
present argumentation, I will mention that originally the name may
notwithstanding have been Egyptian. I regard the word ^'^]^ as
borrowed from the Egyptian. Assyriological friends affirm that in
Assyrian it is wanting,* a Semitic root is not to be found and there-
fore, I suppose that it comes from the Egyptian sr, sre, srd\ "to
shut off, to seclude." Examples of such Egyptian words, which
then are reimported as Semitic, are frequent. Here I renounce to
enumerate them, because I hope to show in another place that
the Egyptian influences upon the Canaanitish and afterwards the
Hebrew dictionary (apart from primitive connections of the African
and Semitic languages) are much stronger than is commonly
'supposed.
I give the whole identification provisionally to direct the
attention of other Egyptologists to it. Before the real confirma-
tion, I will draw no conclusions for the mention in the Exodus
route (Exod. xv, 22), etc. ; also without exact determination of the
place of 6dr, for which, I repeat, I will propose no hypothesis,
that would be mere guessing. Perhaps another will prove that, for
which here I can give only hints.
* Proceedings, X, 220, note 30?
+ Commonly of impassable ways, cf. Stabel Antar (Fee. trav. 6) lin. 14
Jl I I I ^wwvs I I I <:=> Uii/] _M^^
^^ M ] F MM A%A^/vv_ Of secluded men, Harris I, 75, 9,
wNAA *c__ir> I 1 r 11 III
I
^1
^ 3j . The Arabic and Syriac form of "|•'lL^' would be borrowed from
the Canaanitish.
477
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
AN ASSYRIAN RELIGIOUS TEXT.
By B. T. a. Evetts.
The tablet printed as Plate 67, No. 2, of Vol. IV, of the In-
scriptions of Western Asia (now numbered K. 3972), which is
also partly reproduced with explanations in a text published on
Plate 47, Vol. V, has excited some interest among students of
Assyrian. It has been transcribed into Hebrew characters by
Halevy {Doc. Rel., 1882 p. [195] ff.), translated in full by Prof. Sayce
{Hibbert Lectiires, p. 535, f. 1887), and explained, with a translation
of some passages, by Mr. Pinches ("Academy," Jan. 21, 1888);
while one of the same passages had been translated by Prof. Haupt
in 1 88 1 {Akkadische mid Sumerische Keilschri/ttexte, p. 194, 1880-2).
It therefore seems worth while to publish the text of a duplicate
(K. 25 1 8) which gives twenty-one additional lines, as well as parts
of seven lines completing the colophon. Of the text already known
and published, the duplicate reproduces seventeen lines on the
obverse with variants in almost every line. The reverse is much
mutilated, giving only the beginnings of twenty-five lines, of which
twenty-two correspond to lines Rev. 44-65 of the published text,
and the colophon as given below. I do not offer any translation
of a document belonging to a class which at present defies all
attempts at interpretation. The success which has hitherto attended
such attempts is illustrated by the fact that the one passage of
K. 3972 (W.A.I. IV, 67, 1. 61) which has been independently
explained by three writers, appears each time as containing an
entirely different statement.
Haupt. " He who lived last night died to-day ( IVer venvichene
Nacht iebte, starb heute).
Sayce. "That which has lived and died at evening does he
(the god) renew."
Pinches. " (the God) who in the earth lived, died, renewed
(himself)."
And Prof Sayce and Mr. Pinches, who have treated the whole
document, differ as widely as possible both as to grammar and
sense. The former sees in it a Prayer, while the latter discovers
in this "important" text the Meditations of an Ancient Hero who
has conceived the " Messianic Idea."
478
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., June, 18S8.
PLATE L
K. 2518.
IT? 5.m A^ t: -^^ -t^^ ^^^ -^-^ t\
-r ^uj "^rr ^r <^r<^ ^i i^ ^4 i?= j^ i
%:t^ -^ t^ ^ ^^ Wll i^\^ HI ill! ^^u
^^ + >f ^ <igf ^rn <r^ -r? m ^"ii -<< <^h^ hi ^^^^
I? 4s ^r j^t^^ui -in ^!r -<i< hi -i- m.
<m ^t w i m 5^ii r? ^4^ ->f -ti ^si <l< '^f^
<MHi - 1] -^H -^TT ^n -r j^r ^ -ni -^i ^^< tin
^^T ^I- -^T ^Vr >/- ^m^ MJ lilL ^- -tf ^ ill!
1 5. - -> ^^ iidi 4f in m^ n£!r 5^1^ ^r- -!J m -^n ->i<
Idl <!:^ M 4 ^ ->f 5.^ ^ -^^T <« ^ <I-
S^! t;<] 5.!!!^ 4^^!!! ^ ^ <-- ^! ^ ^^ <- ^y
^ -^r -II <Me!I 4^ ^->f J^I -^I ^^^ tM- ^I ^IJf I— I
^^I I ^^l ^! \- ^v, ^i^ Vr ^yyr ;^
2o. t?^/ ^^i j:^!! »^>^yyy i ^ ^ ^^ ^^ .^y
I? .4 V 4-II -II 5.111^ ^rL I A^ Ml !^III^
« -I I -K -I< ^I- <I -I "--^ I]f ^4 ]^ ^ tr
^-m n£ii ^-11 ^i ^cn « >i£iT 5.t^ ^- ^ni!:: ^ jh .^^ ^y< ^
iH -^n ^i< j£iii <i- \^'^t^<' Mi^ in ^iii- Vr
25. 4 >^ ^ -^14-111 -I F-^ in^I 5^:^ ^III t^ ttVr
4 .>^ -HI J:^ -H H ^11 ^ J?f I- -^n ' j£III 1^1 ^S ^ ill!
-11^ -IR :^ j^:??? <I- -t A ^I ->!<
<MeII ^ tr<^ !£III m ^4 ^11 I- -11^ -^ J:52^ ^I
Variants from K. 3972.
^<. 2>:^J£. 3^y^ 4^yyyj-^ « Wanting. « ^^f, ' ^^f.
Proc. Soc, Bibl. Arch., June, 1 888.
PLATE 11.
K. 2518 — continued.
30. jy <- ^^y >:^yf ^ ^y ^yy3 ^yrr y_ ^^yr j^y j^yyi ^ s^y
V ' l^^y ^r ^^yy ^y 't^ ^i y? >.4r ->f <-3[ ^r^ ^i^
35- V ^ -^ITT :^ I >^ ^ -H -Sil ^Ul <-^H H I t^^r ^T
y? y? !.yyy;^ ^-y 4^yy ^.y y™ <igf ^yy? ..y j^yr j^ <:
COLOPHON.
-yn ^yyy ^mm -sii <^y^ y?
40. ^:yyyy yy % m^ jy^ -A m h m
y ->v :^ !^^jff<[y]'" ^^ I ^^ i^ -v <ii!
t^ y --V ^:^.- [y-- ^? .4 gl^ l^:^ \^ -V <mji
-^ y -y «< "V ]-- b-sii ^^ 1^ -V] <i§f ^y
<iiy ^t -> ^cyyy y-- ^] -imn -y<y '^yy 5:::yyy y>- ^^ -yii \^ -v
45- ^:yyyy^-^yy?-^y-s^4^-[<y<^^y!yi!y?^^.m^SL]
{tMH<y>-4sy^y
[y? ^^]i j^in >yi^ h< j^ ->!< ^^y? <m ^yy? ^yyyy >y- ^^ly^ ^^yiy^^ iin
["lyy ay <j^^ "-" iin ^^^ ^ ^ <y- mi>^i-t x^ ^yy iiii
[-y^]>f 5.:yyyy ^^ <^yy -yy<y >^ I M^^ <h ^k1
' V -yy<y. ' y- ^Vr- ' t^^i iin. " t^. ^ ^y<.
^ The characters in outline are restored from K. 3972.
'^ I^iy ^« ^ Nothing is wanting after >->f- . ^ ^yy*
'" The characters within brackets are not restored from K. 3972, but from
the common Colophon.
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
EGYPTIAN AND BASQUE MARRIAGE CONTRACTS.
By Miss Simcox.
The singularities of Eg)'ptian marriage law, which have been
so fully described by M. Revillout, evidendy cannot have originated
in the days of decadence to which most of the surviving documents
belong. "Cette manie des maris Egyptiens de toute abandonner
h. leurs femmes," as he calls it, cannot have been borrowed either
from the Persians who tolerated it, or the Greeks who were scan-
dalized and endeavoured to restrain it. At the same time, if the
marriage contracts of the Ptolemaic period represent immemorial
Eg)'ptian usage, we should expect to find some traces of such
usage in the literature and monuments of earlier dynasties ; but
Egyptologists as a class would be more keenly on the look out
for these traces, and would find it easier to identify them, if the real
nature of Egyptian institutions could be more clearly understood, —
if we could discover the ratmiale of the usages which appear so
paradoxical on the surface, though they cannot certainly have
been wanting in practical convenience and utility, since they were
associated with one of the longest-lived civilizations which man-
kind has known.
In the typical Egyptian marriage contract the husband secures
to his wife various annual allowances, minutely specified, and con-
stitutes his and her eldest son heir of all his property present
and to come. M. Revillout's valuable work will be familiar to
every one interested in the subject, and we need not reproduce
his account of the minor varieties of usage existing side by side.
The above, with its consequence, in making the father virtually
only a trustee for his children, is the essential peculiarity. If the
father did not in this way make over his property to the eldest
son of the marriage, he might make it over to his wife, either
directly or by pledging his whole property as security for a debt,
very possibly fictitious, and which at any rate he did not mean
to repay, so that the forfeiture was intended to take effect. It is
equally difficult at first sight to understand why such a system
came to be adopted, how it can have worked, and what advantages
it possessed : and as long as these points remain unexplained we
may be sure that we have not got to the bottom of the mystery.
479
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY. [1888.
Now there is one, and we believe only one, community in the
world which resembles Egypt in according exactly the same pro-
prietary rights to women and to men, and in the still surviving
marriage customs of this singular and very ancient people we
may possibly find a key to the Egyptian problem. We have in
the Basques the last, westernmost survivors of the first historic
wave of population flowing from the East before the dawn of
Greek and Roman civilization ; whether the Basques and Berbers are
akin, and whether both belong, with the Egyptians, to one great
race, and whether such a race should be called Cushite, Hamitic,
proto-Semitic, proto-Caucasian, or by some other name, need not
be discussed at present. The marriage customs of the modern
Basques* are as old as Strabo, and as we have no reason what-
ever to suppose them to have been invented in Spain, it requires
very little exercise of the imagination to carry their origin back
to the ages when echoes of the usages of Babylonia and Egypt
supplied the Mediterranean peoples with their best or only guide
in the paths of civil and domestic order and law. Strabo says
of the Iberian Cantabri : "Men give dowries to their wives
and the daughters are left heirs, but they procure wives for their
brothers." t Some of the Basque districts have customary codes
known to have been reduced to writing as early as the 13th
century, and the ruling principle in all of them may be briefly
described as primogetiiture without distinction of sex, " Que prumer
filh o filha deu heretar." The family property of course consists
in the farm or homestead which the household occupies and cu-
tivates. On marriage, the first-born, heiress or heir, becomes "co-
seigneur," and is entitled at once to half the patrimony, not as
a portion that can be taken away for separate use, but in joint
or common ownership. If the elder couple is long-lived, a third
generation may be admitted to partnership in the same way. The
younger children are entitled to a portion or dowry if they marry,
and this is provided by the elder brother or sister out of the
family funds, if the original householder, father or mother as the
case may be, is dead or has abdicated. In this sense it is still
* Most of the following particulars are derived from a series of papers
by M. Eugene Cordier, pul)]ished (I think) in vols. 14 and 15 of the Revtie
historique dc Droi( fran^ais et Stranger, of which some account appeared in
Eraser's Magazine for May, 1878.
t Book iii, c. 14, § 18.
480
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [i8?8
true that "the daughters are left heirs, but they procure wives
for their brothers." The provision for the younger children is
facilitated by another singular usage. Heirs and heiresses are not
allowed to marry, at least if they do, one or other must renounce
their inheritance ; thus the eldest child and heir of one family
marries a younger child or cadet of another. Such cadet is called
the conjoint dotal, as distinguished fram the cojijotnt heritier. If
two younger children marry, they retain control of their respective
dowries, but usually agree to hold all acquisitions after marriage
in common, in which case they are calied meytad'es.
In practice nothing could be more strictly conservative than the
effects of this singular body of customs. Families do not die out,
the number of family properties is not diminished; the legal in-
feriority of the conjoint dotal produces little or no inconvenience,
since the conjoint heritier, of course, makes a marriage of inclination,
and the enforced partnership of father and son does not disturb the
family harmony when fixed and familiar custom regulates the conduct
of each generation, and the married heir has every inducement to
behave to his father as he will wish his own son to do to himself
when in the same position. Such a system of family law seems well-
suited to Egypt, where family affection was strong and articulate,
and the struggle for existence less severe than in the Pyrennees, so
that the interests of the family could be maintained with less self-
denial on the part of the younger children than is required among
the Basques. Whether we are justified in interpreting Egyptian
marriage contracts by the analogy of Basque custom depends upon
the amount of direct evidence in favour of certain usages being
common to the two peoples. In Egypt sons and daughters shared
alike in the inheritance ; the eldest son stood in loco parentis to his
younger brothers and sisters, and even during his father's life, on his
own account and theirs, was virtually joint owner or co-trustee
with his father for the family property. The importance attached
to primogeniture goes back to the first ages of monarchy : " eldest
son " is a recognized, quasi-ofiicial title in the tomb-inscriptions of the
first six dynasties, the ancient sage Ptah-hotep, is careful to call him-
self " the eldest of his race," and the god Thoth was so habitually
regarded as standing in that relation to Horus, that " eldest son " is
treated as a synonym for his name. With regard to daughters, it is
well known that under such circumstances " they were left heirs "
in Egypt as among the Cantabri, but we do not know whether the
481
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [18S8.
eldest child necessarily inherited as such, or whether the succession
of the eldest daughter implies the absence of sons. This is a point
which might probably be determined from accessible sources, if
Egyptologists would kindly consider the genealogical notices and
indications which come before them in connection with it. The
strongest argument in favour of some Egyptian equivalent for the
Basque custom of pure primogeniture is furnished by the deed of the
reign of Darius Codomanus published by M. Revillout, in which the
children of two brothers are represented by the eldest son of one
family treating with the eldest daughter of the other, l^his proves
that the eldest daughter might be made heiress, but not that she was
so normally ; on the other hand the cases in which the daughter's
name takes precedence or in which she seems to be the heiress
are more numerous than they would be if the eldest daughter only
counted failing sons. It would be interesting to know in this con-
nection whether when the king married his sister it was usually, as
in the case of the brothers Thothmes, that she was the eldest child
and natural heir: and as such marriages were not in Egypt, as among
the Incas, peculiar to the royal family, the same question will apply
to private persons also.
In the tomb of Khafra-ankh, for instance (Lepsius, Denkmaler, ii,
8), the eldest daughter is represented embracing her father's leg, while
his two sons stand hand in hand, one being described* as " the eldest
son of his loins," and the other as the " son of his loins, meri-f^''
rendered " preferred," because he inherited. Was the daughter the
eldest child, and did the preferred son marry her and inherit on
that account ? Egyptologists very naturally print and translate only
such portions of the inscriptions as promise to be of general interest,
but as M. Maspero somwhere observes, there is no saying what
apparently trivial details may prove to be of scientific importance in
some way, and unless everything is reproduced, the negative con-
clusions reached by those wlio know the monuments only at second
hand must necessarily be worthless. There are several genealogies
in which a supernumerary woman's name appears at intervals, and
the most obvious explanation is that in such cases the direct line is
continued by her.
The frequency of claims to inherit through the mother's father
has been taken to indicate a general recognition of descent in the
* In M. Pierrot's most useful descrijitive analysis of the plates which, it is
to be hoped, will be continued and completed before long.
482
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
female line only, or the system of so-called Miitter-recht. But our
earliest information shows us eldest sons inheriting from their father,
and as a matter of fact, while Egyptian women as daughters are
regarded as equal to their brothers, and as wives are regarded as
equal to their husbands, it is as wives rather than as mothers that
they acquire fresh and special rights and dignities. M. Revillout
and his disciple M. Paturet have already made this observation,
and the point is placed beyond a doubt by the table of precedence
which M. Maspero is publishing in i\vt Jour/ml Asiatiqjie, where
the king himself, his wife, his mother, and his children appear in
that order. The property of both parents was, as a rule, equally
divided between the children, sons and daughters sharing alike, the
eldest son (or daughter) only administering for the rest, if the family
continued undivided. As a consequence, of course, mothers had,
as a rule, as much property to bequeath as fathers, and the child-
ren's rights to the maternal inheritance were no doubt the same as
to the paternal, the mother, like the father, being described in
certain deeds as acting for the children. She also appears, at least
equally often, as countersigning or consenting to the children's legal
acts. If however the mother were superior in rank or wealth to
her husband, the eldest son would naturally inherit from her or her
father rather than his own.
We do not know of anything in Egypt answering to the Basque
rule against the intermarriage of heirs and heiresses, which indeed
would have little meaning except in the case of small com-
munities of peasant proprietors. The property of the Basque
epoux dotal, however, might by most local customs be disposed
of by will, and it is very probable that the Egyptians prevented
the accumulation of estates by allowing one of the younger children
to inherit any lands or offices coming through the less wealthy of
the two parents, as an equivalent for his share in the joint family
estate. Among the Basques, when magistracies were attached to
special families, the heiress might be represented by a son or
husband, and we know that hereditary governorships passed in
Egypt in this way through the mother who did not exercise them
herself, while the custom of dividing the inheritance equally among
the children would prevent all such honours being monopolized
by the eldest. Egyptian and Basque custom agree in circum-
scribing the authority of the pater-familias ; they differ in so far
as the Basque custom overlooks the wife, unless she has property
483
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY. [1888
in her own right, and makes the partnership of the eldest child
independent of the will of either parent ; while in Egypt it was by
a contract with the wife that the husband took her firstborn into
partnership, and it was open to him instead of sharing the estate
with his son to assign it to his wife, leaving it to her to make
the customary assignment to the elder child in trust for the rest.
The earliest marriage contracts which have reached us are the
most meagre, and contain only a general undertaking to do all
that belongs to a lawful marriage (Je faire a toi mari, as M. Revillout
renders it). Common law or custom no doubt fixed exactly the
position of an " established wife," and it is our misfortune that the
first written deeds treat this as too well known to need specifying.
But if we read the Egyptian deeds by the light of living Basque
usage their purpose becomes clear and reasonable enough. The
typical Egyptian triad consists of father, mother, and son. Egyptian
civilization is essentially domestic ; the family is the unit and it
consists of these three members ; to them, therefore, as a group
and not to any one of the three, the property of the family was
considered to belong. It might be administered by one or other
parent according to circumstances, but custom, backed by the
double force of law and inclination, decided that such administra-
tion should be in the interests of the children of the marriage.
This is evident from the deeds themselves. In the family of
pastophores, whose history is traced by M. Revillout, it was the
regular thing for the husband to make over his property to his
wife, either all at once or by degrees, while she in due course
made it over to his son, and he again to his own wife with the
like result. This is done equally in cases w^here the contract
expressly bars the intervention of sons or daughters. A wife who
was thus endowed to the disadvantage of children by a former
marriage (one of whom signs the contract), having no children
of her own, made her husband's nephew his heir, — presumably
a younger nephew, as his brother succeeded their father, — so that the
grandfather's property was again equally divided. When Egyptian
women of loose character began to marry Greeks, of course the
old conservative custom lost its character and gave opening to
various abuses, but on the whole it seems extremely probable that by
ancient Egyptian usage the "established wife" acquired as such an
interest in her husband's property, present and future, similar to that
possessed by the children ; that in fact she was constituted by the
484
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
marriage trustee for all the children, as the eldest son or daughter
was for the rest. The penalties stipulated in Egyptian contracts
on the husband's taking another wife, are evidently intended to
protect the children against having to share their parents' property
with the children of another woman, and we get an exact counterpart
to the children's consent (demanded in the Tale of Setnau, and
formally accorded in various deeds) in the Beam custom which
allows a widowed gendre {i.e., the cadet who has married an heiress)
to bring a new wife to the house of the first with, but not without, the
consent of her children. There is a very curious contract of
marriage in the reign of Darius I, in which the usual stipulations
are inverted, the wife speaking of the man as being established as
her husband, acknowledging the receipt of a sum of money as dowry,
and undertaking that if she deserts or despises him a third part of all
her goods present and to come shall be forfeited to him. Such
a document would become perfectly intelligible if we suppose it
to represent the contract between an Egyptian heiress and a younger
son, the Basque conjoint dotal ; the penalty is imposed alike in
the case of both parents for the same reason, namely to ensure the
children of the marriage against disinheritance through the mis-
conduct of the richer parent. It is noticeable that the two deeds
which suggest the closest parallels to Basque usage belong to the
Persian period, when native usage was less confused and corrupted
than under the later Ptolemies.
The variations of Greek and Demotic contracts are such as
would be most intelligible if we suppose the terms to be conditional
on the relative position of the spouses. The annual pension or
alimony promised to the wife seems to have been regarded in the
light of interest on her portion. It is possible that in Egypt as
elsewhere the status of a wife depended on her having brought a
dowry, and that any wife who did so was lawfuly " established " and
entitled, by common or customary law, to the joint ownership of her
husband's goods,* with remainder to his and her first-born. This
* In a love song translated by M. Maspero {Journal Asiatique, 1883), we find
the co-proprietorship of the wife treated incidentally as the sign or symbol of
complete union. " O mon bel ami, mon desir c'est [que je devienne maitresse
de] tes biens en qualite d'epouse, c'est que, ton bras pose sur mon bras, tu te
promeneras a ton gre." The whole tone of the poem is too impassioned to let
it be supposed that the lady desires her brother's property for its own sake, only,
such ownership being of the essence of wifehood, she mentions it as synonymous
with the marriage for which she sighs.
485 2 P
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
virtual regime de communaitte would apply equally if the wife were
the landed proprietor or chief heiress, though in that case it would
be necessary to pledge the whole property of the comviunauti\ instead
of part, as security for her contribution. Unless she was necessarily,
as wife, co-proprietor with her husband, it does not appear why her
consent should have been required, as it was, to the mortgage
executed by her husband for her own benefit. The Greeks might
well exclaim that the wife w^as given authority over the husband,
when it was usual for the wife to endorse her husband's deeds while
he did not endorse hers. But whatever may have been the case in
primitive Babylonia, gynaecocracy did not prevail in historic Egypt,
only complete equality, and the above provision becames recon.
cilable with such equality if we suppose something like the Basque
rule — one family, one property — to have prevailed. If this were so
the married couple might be partners in regard to the family pro-
perty, and yet the co7ijoiiit dotal retain independent control of his or
her portion ; and in such a case the wife, though not the wealthier
partner, would have to endorse her husband's deeds affecting the
family property, and yet be free to deal independently with her own
smaller possessions ; * and a corresponding privilege would be
enjoyed by the husband of the contract of Darius I, referred to above,
just as, among the Basques, the younger children have more com-
plete control over their portions than the heir over the family estate.
There are traits in Welsh and Irish law which might naturally
be explained by Iberian influence on the Kelts, and in these we
trace a distinct affinity to the spirit of Basque and Egyptian usage.
In Wales especially the status of the wife depended on her posses-
sion of property : the " espoused wife " was one who brought an
agweddi or dowry to her husband, and she alone was entitled to the
half-share of all his goods, including even the corn, which seems to
have been regarded as the most honourable or valuable part of the
property ; " no wife in the world is to have a share in the corn
except an espoused wife." Another peculiarity of Welsh law bears
a suggestive resemblance to the three separate kinds of payment
usually promised in Egyptian marriage contracts. Besides the
* The distinction between hereditary estates and personal income is clearly
marked in the contracts relating to formal offerings belonjnng to the I3lh
Dynasty, and published by Professor Erman in the Zeitschnjt Jur Ae^yptische
Sprache iind Alterthuinshinde, 18S2.
4S6
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
agweddi or portion given with the wife, and representing her share
of the family estate, there is the cowyll, answering to the " woman's
gift " or Morgengabe, and a third element, less frequently met with,
the argyvrcTi, answering to the Roman paraphertialia, and the
" toilet " and " pin-money " of the Egyptian deeds.
These parallels do not of course prove a genealogical con-
nection between the three sets of customs, but they may help to
vindicate the sanity of Egyptian husbands by showing that the
national customs were conceived as much in the interests of fathers
and sons as of wives. Anyway these notes will have served their
purpose if they induce M. Revillout and the other "masters of
those who know " all the wisdom of the Egyptians to keep a look
out for early texts bearing, however slightly, on the points raised,
viz., the rights of the eldest child, whether son or daughter, during
and after the parent's life ; the place, in order of seniority, of the
child who inherits from the mother's father; and the dilTerence,
if any, in the marriage contracts of elder and younger children.
Such references may exist and yet be overlooked until their bearing
is understood. Thus in the maxims of the scribe Ani * there
is clearly a reference to the partition of the ancestral property
among the children and the qualified ownership of the elder, who
is cautioned not to say of his house, "This comes from the
father of my mother," as if it were his alone, for it has to be
shared with his brethren, and only a part falls to his own lot ;
and similar passages might be quoted in illustration of other usages
the character of which has been already ascertained.
* Translated in Chabas' V Egyptologic . Chabas says, from my " father and
my mother," but Brugsch and de Rouge agree in the more characteristic reading
of the text.
487 2 P 2
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY. [1888.
BABYLONIAN TABLETS FROM TEL EL-AMARNA,
UPPER EGYPT.
By Prof. A. H. Sayce, M.A.
Egypt is the land of archteological surprises. The last discovery
has been that of a number of Babylonian cuneiform tablets. During
the winter of 1877-8 about 200 of these tablets have been offered
for sale at Cairo and Ekhmim by native dealers who had procured
them in Upper Egypt. A considerable number have been obtained
by the Boulaq Museum, 160 by the Museum of Vienna, and a still
larger number by Danninos Pasha ; and a few have been purchased
by M. Urbain Bouriant, the Director of the French Archaeological
School in Cairo. Through his kindness I am able to give an
account of the tablets as well as translations of them. He has
permitted me to take copies of all those which were in his posses-
sion up to the time of my departure from Cairo, and to publish
them in the Proceedings of this Society. It will be seen that
they turn out for the most part to be despatches sent to the king
by his officers stationed abroad.
The natives who offered them for sale agreed in declaring that
they came from Tel el-Amarna or its immediate neighbourhood.
Tel el-Amarna represents the site of the city of " the heretic king "
Khu-n-aten of the i8th Dynasty; it was built during his reign, and
deserted soon after his death, on the return of the Egyptian
monarchs to the old worship of the Theban Amen. According
to Prof. Erman a hieratic note attached to one of the tablets now
in Vienna states that the collection had been transferred from
Thebes to the new capital of Khu-n-aten.
None of the tablets belonging to M. Bouriant are quite perfect,
and we must therefore await the examination of those in the other
collections I have mentioned before we can satisfactorily settle
some of the questions they raise. But enough has been established
by Drs. Winckler and Lehmann, after an examination of the tablets
at Vienna, to show that the collection is one of extraordinary in-
terest. It includes letters from various Asiatic kings addressed to
488
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
two Egyptian monarchs Nimmuriya and Napkhururiya, in whom
Prof. Erman has no difficulty in recognizing the 3rd and 4th
Amenophis of the i8th Dynasty (Neb-Ma-Ra and Nofer-kheperu-
Ra).* Several of them refer to the princess Teii the wife of
Nimmuriya, that is to say Tii, the mother of Khu-n-aten or
Amenophis IV.
Among the correspondents of the Egyptian monarchs is Burna-
buryas of Babylonia, — whose date I have given in my Herodotos as
B.C. 1430, thus making him a contemporary of Khu-n-aten, — as well
as Dusratta of Mitanni, the father-in-law of the Pharaoh. A hieratic
note identifies Mitanni with Naharina, which played so important
a part in the Asiatic history of the i8th Dynasty before the rise
of the Hittite power. As Prof Schrader points out, Mitanni is
the Mitani of Tiglath-pileser I, which lay "in front of the land of
the Hittites," and the Egyptian Naharina is consequently the eastern
bank of the Euphrates between Carchemish and the mouth of
the Belikhos. Dr. Winckler has found Mitanni several times asso-
ciated with the land of Khani-rabbat, "Khani the great," so called
to distinguish it from another Khani nearer to Babylonia.
Certain of the tablets or letters are written from Byblos, Simyra
Megiddo (Makida), Acre, and Ashkelon, and one of them — in which
mention is made of the city of Dunip, the Tunep of the Egyptian
texts — asks for speedy assistance against the advancing forces of the
Hittites.
The revelations which may be expected from this extraordinary
discovery need not be described. It shows that western Asia was
a scene of literary activity in the i6th century before our era, and
that Babylonian at that time occupied the place afterwards taken by
Aramaic as the language of diplomacy and science in the civilised
East. The form of writing used on the Kappadokian cuneiform
tablets — of which I hope to be able before long to communicate
some more to the Society — is now explained. It preserved the
script once employed as far north as Asia Minor by the educated
classes of society.
One of the tablets copied by Dr. Winckler informs us that the
king of Mitanni sent a targumannu or " dragoman " along with the
* See the Sitzungsherichte de.r K. pi-eussischen AKademie der IVissenschaften
zu Berlin, xxiii (1888) : " Der Thontafelfund von Tell-Amarna " by Erman
and Schrader.
489
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY, [1888.
messenger by whom it was conveyed. It is the first instance of the
word that has yet been discovered.
Equally curious is the mention of the name Masu or Moses in
one of M. Bouriant's tablets (VI, 17) a century before the date of
the Exodus according to the Egyptologists. It will also be seen
that we may read the name of the Hebrews in another (I, 6).
These tablets however are not the first cuneiform monuments
of Babylonian origin which have been found in Egypt. In the
winter of 1883 Professor Maspero showed me three cylinders of
clay inscribed with Babylonian cuneiform characters which he had
recently purchased from an Arab, and deposited in the Boulaq
Museum. As the Arab had stated that they were found in the
neighbourhood of the Suez Canal, I concluded that they had come
from Tel Defenneh, the Pelusiac Daphne of the ancients, which
guarded the frontier of Egypt on the east. I expressed my opinion
in the Acadetny of January 19th, 1884, p. 51, and two years after-
wards it was verified by Mr. Flinders Petrie's excavations on behalf
of the Egypt Exploration Fund. Mr. Petrie discovered the pave-
ment of brick "at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes,"
where Jeremiah hid " great stones " in token that Nebuchadrezzar
would hereafter set up his throne above them. As the cylinders all
bear a stereotyped and badly-written inscription, which has no
reference to Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt, they must (as I
remarked in the Academy) " have been intended merely as memorials
of his conquests to be left in the countries he overran." They
formed, in fact, part of a set of four buried at the four corners of the
pavilion he erected in the frontier city of Egypt.
One of them begins as follows : " Nebuchadnezzar king of Baby-
lon, the son of Nabopolassar king of Babylon, am I. E-Makh the
temple of Nin-Makh, of Anu his god and of Merodach, (the temple)
of Anu, (the temple of the daughter) of Anu, the supreme, m
Babylon, the city of my sovereignty, and the temple of us-us, with
bitumen and brick I built." The others similarly relate to the
erection of buildings in Babylon.
M. Bouriant's tablets are written in cursive Babylonian, with the
exception of one, the handwriting of which is Assyrian rather than
Babylonian. The clay of which the tablets are composed varies a
good deal, some of it being the coarse gritty clay so often found on
the banks of the Nile. None of it has been baked in a kiln.
The most curious portion of M. Bouriant's collection are two
490
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[li
large fragments belonging to what must have been a tablet of
enormous size and of square or rectangular shape. It contained an
inventory of the property possessed by the government in Upper
Egypt. It is probable that all the pieces belonging to it will be
recovered, since the two fragments in M. Bouriant's collection have
evidently been cut out of the original by the natives after their
discovery of it.
Now that cuneiform tablets have been found, it is possible that
papyri inscribed with cuneiform characters may also be brought to
light. However this may be, it is desirable that all the tablets
which have been in the market during the past winter should be
examined as soon as possible.
No. I.
Written in large characters on a small tablet of dark-coloured clay.
Obverse.
8 II sarri
^//e two kings {of) . . .
9 sa sepa mati . . . .
which (is) at the foot of the land of. . .
10 a-na-a sepa (sarri) bil-ya
to the feet of the king, my ion/,
1 a-na sarra bil-ya
To tJie king, my lord,
2 bil-ya Samsi-ya
tny lord, my Sun-god,
3 Samsu sa is-tu
the Sun-god who {is) from
4 AN yu-me-(e) lu
the god of day, verily
5 D.P. Pi-da-as amilu
Pidas the man
6 sa ali Dil-bar-lu-gil
of the city Dilbar-lugil{?),
7 arad bil-ya
the servant of my lord,
11 Samsi sa is-tu
the Sun-god zvho (is) from
12 AN yu-me-e vi su
the divine day, six times
13 U VII TA-A-AN
a7id seven times
14 lu-u is-ta-kha-khi-in-ni
verily \ , \hassubjectedunto me.
2. It is interesting to find the scribe addressing the- king as
" Sun-god " in Egyptian fashion. The Egyptian monarch was not
only the son of the Sun-god Ra, but he was also identified with Ra
himself The additional statement that ''the Sun-god rises from the
divine day " breathes an Egyptian rather than a Babylonian s])irit,
and the name Pidas is not Assyro-Babylonian. The Assyrian king
491
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV.
[1S88.
Shalmaneser II, however, calls himself "the Sun-god" (W.A.I.
HI, 7, 5-)
6. The characters composing the name of the city may be read in
so many different ways that it is impossible to determine what is the
correct reading. The first character may be either dil or as, the
second bar or mas, and the fourth gil, rim, rin, khap, &c.
8, 9. It is unfortunate that the names of the localities mentioned
are destroyed.
10. We must notice the spelling o{ ana.
Reverse.
1 amilu TUM ra-bu (?)
The chief (?) officer
2 sa sarri bil-ya
of the king my lord,
3 sa istap-ra-am
as to what he sent,
4 sarru bil-ya Samsu
the king my lord the Sim-god
5 is-tu AN yu-me
{rising) from the divine day,
6 a-na ya-a-si
to me
7 is-ti-lu
has put the question
8 ki pi pi-te-su
according to his open mouth
9 ma-rab ma-rab
very earnestly.
10 a-nu-ma a-na za-ru
Now (is the titne) for the solving
11 [zi-]ri sarri sa
of the seed of the king, which
12 [it-] ti-ya
{is) with me.
I. The last character of the line may be a badly-written sarru.
In that case the title of the officer would be expressed by the two
ideographs tum and ra. We can hardly read ibra sarri, "the
friend of the king."
8. The phrase seems to mean " by word of mouth." In two other
tablets (IX 14, X 21) the scribe, deceived by the fact that the
character // had the value oi a, has written a pite instead oi pi pite.
A similar error has been committed in Obv. 12 of this tablet, where
a false ideograph has been used to denote the idea of " times,"
because it had the same phonetic value su as the ideograph which
ought to have been employed.
10. Anuma is elsewhere (IV 12) written anumma, i.e., anuma.
It is another form of enuma from ami or cnu " time." The pronun-
ciation with a militates against Lotz's suggestion that it is connected
492
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
with the Arabic hhiti. The last character is too distinctly formed to
allow us to read anjiki, which Dr. Winckler has shown is used for the
first personal pronoun in some of these tablets. See No. XI, 20.
No. II.
A small flesh-coloured tablet, much injured.
t (a-na) sarra bil-ya
( To) the king my lord
2 (u) Samsa u ili-ya
{and) the Sun-god and my gods
3 . . . dhe-ma eli
. . . neivs concerning
4 Nam (?)-pi-pi arad ki-it-ti
JVampipii?) the servant of justice
5 (sa) sarri bili-ya
(of) the king, f>iy lord.
6 (?D.p. H-)ip-risepa sarri bili-ya
Apriesi?) tinder the king my lord
7 a-na sepa sarri bili-ya
at the feet of the king, my lord
8 u Samsi u ili-ya
and the Sun-god and my gods
9 VII su u VIII TA-A-AN am-khats
7 times 6^ 8 titnes I smote.
10 (as)-te-me a-na-at
/ have listened to the despatches
11 (sarri) bili-ya u ili-ya
of the king my lord and my gods
12
. . . eli . .
concerning ,
13 . . . a-na . . .
14 .... i ... .
15 .... bili u . . .
16 . . mi-ki sarri bili-ya
the king my lord
1 7 (u) mati-su
{and) his country.
4. The name may also be read Khu-za-am, but the first character
is not clear, and it is doubtful whether the reduplicated // is to be
considered as one character {am) or as two.
The expression "servant of justice," meaning "trustworthy ser-
vant," occurs elsewhere in these tablets and is sometimes replaced
by arad asirti " servant of righteousness." It is very unfortunate
that the commencement of the proper name is lost. My restoration
would fit the line very well, but it is tempting to read {amil) Ibri
" the Hebrew."
9. The scribe has written the wrong ideograph to express the idea
of " times," owing to the fact that it had the same phonetic value
{su) as the correct one. See above.
It is doubtful whether we should read amkhats or a?nqut, both
493
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY, [1888.
words having the same signification. Possibly the scribe intended
either to be read.
10. The last character but one, though written ut^ seems
intended for ;/a, since apar abi " the covering of the fathers," or atam
abi, would yield no sense. Anatti is shown by W.A.I. , II, 40, 41, to
signify " an inscribed monument."
17. One of the peculiarities of these tablets from Tel el-Amarua
is the attachment of the determinative affix of locality ki to the
ideograph of country as well as to the names of places which are
already preceded by the determinatives of country and city.
No. III.
Small square flesh-coloured tablet with minute handwriting;
much damaged.
1 (a-)na sar-ri bili-ya
To the king my lord,
2 (a-)bi-ma at-ma
my father also, I speak
3 . . . khi?-il ardu-ka d.p. A-ru-di
I . . . . il, thy servant, Arudi
4 (sepa sarri) vii ta-a-an u viii ta-a-an am-khats
{i/nder the king) 7 times and 8 times, I smote.
5 sa si-pu-na ebus
tvhen a raid he made,
6 D.P. Mil-ki ma-ar d.p. Ma-ar-ra-tim
{even) Melech the son of Marratim [^^ the salt-marshes"^
7 a-na mat sar-ri bili-ya,
against the country of the king my lord,
8 mu-khi-ru tsabi ali Ga-tur (?)-ri ki
commanding the forces of the city Gaturri {?),
9 tsabi ali Gi-im-ti ki
the forces of the city Gimti,
10 u tsabi ali Ki-il-ti ki
and the forces of the city Kilti.
11 Tsa-ab-tum mat ali Ru-bu-te ki
He took the country of the city of Rubute {''^princes,")
494
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [i{
12 pa-da-ka-at mat sar-ri
depe?ident on (?) the country of the king,
13 a-na amili kha-bi-ri
for the men confederated,
14 u i-na-an-na ap-pu-na
and again entirely
15 ali Sad-u-ru-ru-si Ki
the city of Sadu-rurusi [or '■'■ of the country of U'rurusi"'\
16 ali bit D.p. NiN-ip . su-mu Mar-rum
the city of the temple of Uras : called Marru:
17 ali sar-ri pa-da-ka-at
the city of the ki?ig dependent on (?)
18 a-sar amili ali Ki-il-ti ki
the place of the men of the city of Kilti ;
19 u XII alani sar-ri a-na napalkati-va
and 12 cities of the king {he led) into ?'evolt, and
20 XII a . . ma ra gur(?) . . . pi . . ti
12
21 u sar-ru
and the kifiiT
22 u
and
23 pa-da-ka-at mati amili
dependent on (?) the country the men
24 X kha-bi-ri
10 confederates
25 sa (?) na mad (?) an-ni-sam
this
Edge.
I u . . iz ki
and
2 sar-ri a-na mati . .
of the king to the country
3. The last character may be a misformed ki ; in this case the
name would be Aruki.
4. The characters in this line are particularly badly formed.
495
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
5. .iipuna must be a derivative from sapanu.
6. The scribe has evidently misunderstood tlie Semitic expres-
sion, " the king, the son of the marsh-lands," i.e., " the inhabitant of
the marsh-lands," and has turned Milki (melech) into a proper name,
making Marratim the name of a person. Since Marratim was the
designation of the marshes at the mouth of the Euphrates, and was
consequently familiar to every Babylonian, it would appear that the
scribe must have been an Egyptian. The names of the cities which
follow show that the marshes in question were the sand-dunes of
the Philistine coast. The "milki" or melech seems to have been
named Arudi.
8. Mukhiru is the nomen agentis of akharu.
The second character composing the name of the city seems to
to be intended for tur ; at all events I can suggest no other
identification for it. Its form may throw light on the origin of the
Persian cuneiform letter /. With Gaturri the name of Gedor may
be compared.
9. Gimti is associated with Ashdod by Sargon. Delitzsch has
identified it with Gath.
10. Kilti may be the modern Kila, which is supposed to
represent the Biblical Qeilah, which was in southern Judah (Josh.
XV, 44).
11. Tsabtum may be translated: "there was taken." Rubute
would be Rabbah in Hebrew, possibly the Rabbah of Judah
mentioned in Josh, xv, 60.
12. The signification oi padakat is approximately fixed by the
context, but I have never met with the word elsewhere.
16. Marru is the Aramaic ^^").P, "lord." The fuller form
Mnpva->i is found on coins of Gaza as a title of Zeus.
24. Can these khabiri, or "confederates," be the people of
Hebron ? In ordinary Assyrian the initial kheth of "^Hl is lost.
No. IV.
A tablet of fleshy colour ; greatly injured.
1. a-na sar-ri bil-ya
To the king my lord:
2. ina sumeli-ya Samsu ki-ne (kiluta)
on my left hand the Sun-god fire
496
June 5] rROCEEDINGS. [1888.
3. ya-ru-uts-va its-ra arda-(ka)
let fall (?) and injured (?) {thy) servant,
4. amil ali Gesdin-din-na-Ki arad
a man of the city of Gesdinna {^^wifie"), the servant
5. rabi sa sepa-ka
of the officers who {are) under thee.
6. gid-di-sa-ka e-si-ka
Thy holiness I worship.
7. imiri sa sepa bil-ya
The asses which at the feet of my lord
8. VII SU VII TA-A-AN
seven times seven
9. a-kim(?)-mi a-na-ku arad sarri
/ collected (f) {even) I the servant of the king ;
10. is-tu sa-ri-ti
from the stables (?)
11. sarri bili-ya ur-ru
of the king my lord I brought ;
12. u a-nu-um-ma i-na (mati)
and now in (the country)
13. sar-ra bili-ya
of the king f?iy lord
3. Yarzits may be connected with the Arabic i^J^, "to be low,"
and itsra with •^^. But compare also Jiritsu^ " offspring."
4. The first character in the name of the city may be the
Babylonian form of Jl^, gur, but this is unlikely, and we must
read Gesdinna or Kurunna, the din being repeated twice. The
name signifies " the city of wine."
6. Qiddisa seems to be \I?1p, and esika, a synonym of nasaqu.
9, The second character in this line is the Assyrian -i^^,
khar, mur and kin. Here it ought to possess a phonetic value
terminating in -;;/, and should probably be read kim. In this case
the word would come from kamu, "to bind" or "collect."
10. With sariti compare the JlT^'li? or "caravans" of Ezek.
xxvii, 25.
497
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
It is possible, however, that this tablet really refers to the con-
veyance of wine. The person mentioned in it belonged to " a city
of wine." Imiri may signify " homers " of wine, sariti being "a wine-
cellar." But the mutilated condition of the tablet makes anything
like certainty out of the question.
No. V.
A small rectangular tablet of white clay, minutely written ; much
injured.
1 a-na sarra bila ban - u - (a)
To the king the lord 7C<ho created {7ne)
2 ab-lu a-bi al-ki (u)
as a son to my father I zuent, [and)
3 IX u VII a-na sepi sarri Nu-(qu ?) am-khats
9 and 7 {times) at the feet of the king Necho (J) J smote,
4 a-na-ku . . mes is-tu su-tin-ni
even I. The Jiews (?) from the Soudan
5 sarru be-el-ya il-te-me
the king my lord has heard.
6 sa al-ka-su sarru a-na
When I tvent to him the king to
7 arad-su (d.p.) e-mu-ki
his sen'atit emuki
8 ya pi sa iq-bi
{according to) the word which he spoke
9 um-(ma) su-par e-te-bu-us
thus: as regards {what) I have done,
10 kha-ad-da-ku ma-rab ma-rab
/ have rejoiced very exceedingly,
II pa-ta-ri
12 ut ya
13 u ti i-na ti-lit-ni
and in our ascent {f)
14 ina ali l)i-du-na
into the city of Biduna
498
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [ij
15 amil nakri-ya a-ra-da
my enemy I pursued.
16 si-par ir-zi-ti
Thereup07i {to) the coutitry
17 u la-ki kakki
afid those who take a weapon
18 al-ki tsabi si-par (ina)
/ went. The soldiers thereupon in
19 ir-ti sa a-bi
front of my father
20 u ina ir-ti D.p. La ... .
and against La ....
2 1 ina sumeli (?) takh-pa ....
071 the left {?) thou ....
2. It is possible that ablu ahi should be interpreted literally here,
the despatch-writer being really a son of the king.
3. The restoration nu-{gu) is supported by the fact that a part of
Egypt (?) is called " the land of Nuqu " or Necho in No. 7, Rev. 5.
4. Sutinni is a derivative from sutu " the south wind," and there-
fore an exact equivalent of "the Soudan."
14. The name of the city may also be read Kasduna.
16. Sipar, from saparu, " to send," is frequently used adverbially,
apparently in the sense of " thereupon." Irsiti must be weakened
from irtsiti, a phenomenon of which there are other examples in the
Babylonian dialect.
No. VI.
A small dark tablet of coarse clay.
A-na sar-ri bil-ya
To the king my lord
ki ris-tum
as before
at-ma d.p, Zi-na-ar-pi u su-ru
I speak, (even) Zinarpi and bulls,
499
ardu-ka (tu)-ur si-ip-(ri)
thy servant, the messenger
sar-ri sir al-pi
of the king. The flesh of oxen
Tune 5]
6
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1888.
sir KHAR ? a-na
the flesh of the heart {!) at
sepi sar-ri
the feet of the king
7 bili-ya a-kim (?) -mi
7ny lord .... / collect {?),
8 (a-na-) ku ardu sa-a sar-ri
/ the servant of the kifig.
9 a-na-ku u
/ and
10 at sa-a
II ebus ....
12 ardu-su . . .
13 es-te-mi . . .
14 arad sar-ri a-(na)
the servant of the king for
15 bili-ya a-kim (?) -mu
my lord I collect {1)
16 ki-i-ma Samsi is-tum
Like the sun-god{rising) from
17 D.p. yumi : sa sumu
the divine day: whose ?ia}ne{is)
ma-si
Masi:
1 8 la-a-ni la-u
my side the strong one
1 9 e-zi-ib a-ma- (at)
has left ; the word
20 sar-ri bili-ya
of the king my lord
21 u amil iz-KA
and of the gate-keeper :
22 da-a sa en-qa
' the knowledge of the 7vise}nan
23 lim-di-ya
(fs) my learning^
Edge.
I ni-es-mu a-na
Attention [has been paid) to
2 sa-a-su
this {person).
3. The name of Zinarpi does not seem to be Semitic.
6. I cannot identify with certainty the character which follows the
word siru, "flesh." It looks like the Babylonian form of -<4^E^'
but it may be ^t^, " the intestines."
7. On a-kim (?) -mi see above No. V, 9.
8. The length of the vowel in sd is noticeable. Comp. line 10.
17. Masi is letter for letter the same as the Hebrew Hli^D,
" Moses " : see my Lectures on the Religion of the Ancient Babylonians,
pp. 46-50. This curious passage confirms the view I have there
taken of the word. It is interesting to find the name in Egypt a
century before the date assigned by Egyptologists to the Exodus.
5C0
June 5] TROCEEDINGS. [iJ
No. VII.
Large clearly written tablet of coarse clay ; much injured.
Obverse.
I (a-na) SAR-ar bili-ya
To the kmg viy lord:
2 ru amil Mi-ri-tum
ru the Miritian
3 u D.p. A-zi-ru amil Mu ....
and Aziru the Mu ....
4 VI su u VII su a-na sepa
6 times and 7 times at the feet
5 ili-ya u Samsi-ya am-(khats)
of my god and my Sun-god I smote.
6 Bil-ya ili-ya Samsi-ya
O my lord, my god {and) my Sun-god,
7 a-na-ku amil arda-tum u bani(?)-ya
/ {am) a servitor attd my sons {!)
8 u akhi-ya amili arda-tum
and my brothers {ai'e) servitors
9 sa sar-ri bili-ya a-di ta-ri.
of the king my lord until my returti {hotne).
10 a-nu-um-ma gab-bi mi-ri-ti temeni
IVow all the Miritians the foundation-stones
1 1 sa sarri bili-ya u-se-es-se-ir
of the king ?ny lord I have caused to arrange,
12 u sa (us)-ta-az-zi
and what I strengthened (?)
13 is-tu qu-tum bi-i-ti
after the completion {?) of the house
14 sarru bili-ya us-se-ir
the king my lord has directed.
15 a-nu-um-ma
Now
501 2 Q
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
16 u itsi rab-bu-te
and the trees large
17 gab-bi sa us(?)
all which I {planted?)
18 is-tu qu-(tum) (bi-it)
after the completion {?) of the house
19 sar-ri bili-ya . . .
of the king my lord (/ set in order)
20 (a-)na ip-(si-ti)
for the work.
The damaged state of this tablet makes it difficult to follow the
sense of it, and there are several characters in it which I cannot
identify with certainty.
2. The word Miritum appears in the plural Miriti in line 10.
The analogy of ^arditi, in line 1 1 Rev., would go to show that we
shouM render it by " Mirian " rather than "Miritian." Can it refer
to Meroe (Egyptian Berua)? It is clear that a war had been
carried on against the Miritians, and that some of the captives taken
in it were employed in building a palace for Khu-n-aten.
7. The character seems to be ban (not anitii, "slave-girl").
But I cannot explain how bani could be used in the sense of
"sons"; we should expect bini.
8. The temcni were the inscribed clay cylinders placed under the
foundations of a building. They will doubtless be brought to light
\{ i\\Q fellahin continue their search for cuneiform tablets.
12. Ustazzih a new word to me; its connection with ezizu, "to
be strong," is more than doubtful.
13. Qutum is also new, unless we are to read qutinu in
W.A.I. II, 36, 64. Possibly it is a mimmated derivative form
qatu, " to bring to an end."
Reverse.
1 (a)-na sar-ri (bili-ya)
To the king {jny lord)
2 i-ga-bi (um-ma)
he speaks {thus:)
3 istu pa-an (amili)
from before {the men)
502
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S8S.
4 . . pa-am istu bili
from the lord
5 u sarri mat Nu-qu ....
and the kings of the country of Necho . . .
6 ... pu (?) XII (?) num-qar
7 u la-hu pa-an ni-si (sa)
and strong before the people of
8 all Khar-mu-ri i-na sanati (?) h
the city of Kharniuri in the year (?)
9 bar pa . . . ali Zu-mu-ri-im-ma
the city of Zumurinima
10 bili-(ya) u amili arda-tum a-di ta-ri
{my) lord and the servitor until my retui n ;
11 u sarru a-lis amil vSa-ar-di-ti
and the king dismissed (.?) the Sardians
12 u XII num-qar ? ya
13 . . . . bili-ya la tu-se-im-mi
O my lord thou dost not hear.
14 u SAR-ar bil-ya ili-ya u Samsu-ya
And tJie king my lord, my god and my Sun-god,
15 amil Ya-ri-su-li (?) is-pur-ra-am
the Yarisu{l)iafi has sent,
16 it-ti amil I . . . . ya
along with the I . , . .
17 u li-sim (me) . . .
and may he hear
18 sa i-ga-ab-(bi)
what he says
1 9 bili-ya i-na-an-na . .
My lord again . .
20 . . me-e u-ta ....
503 2 Q 2
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1S88.
21 (sarru) bili-ya ili-ya (u Samsi-ya)
(O kifig) my lord ?ny god {and my Sun-god).
Edge.
I kha-mud ipra us-se-ra-am
(/ . . .) khamud the ground have set in order.
2 bi-ka istu qati sa sarri bili-ya u-bil
, from the hand of the king my lord I have brought.
5. Nuq2i is probably Necho ; the name is written Niqu by
Assur-bani-pal. See above V, 3.
6. For this line see line 12. I can throw no light on either.
8. Kharmuri may also be read Murmuri.
9. Zumurim-ma may also be read Zumurimba.
II. Alls I connect with the Arabic hhalasa, and construe as a
permansive. The Sarditi can hardly be the Shardaina who make
their appearance on the Egyptian monuments in the time of the
19th Dynasty.
14. We must notice that the king is called "god" and "sun-
god," in accordance with Egyptian custom.
15. The word Yari-su{li) seems to be a compound of Yaru, the
Hebrew "^i^^i (Egyptian aur), "the Nile." The Nile is called the
Yaru-u, or " great river," Egyptian atir-da, by Assur-bani-pal.
20, Possibly in this line we have utazzi again.
No. VIII.
Large tablet of dark clay ; much injured.
Obverse.
1 a-na sar mat Mi-its-ri pal-ya
To the king of the lajid of Egypt my son
2 at-ma sar mat A-la-si-ya pal-ka
I speak. The king of the land of Alas iy a thy son
3 a-na ya-si sul-mu
towards me is at peace.
4 a-na kim-ri d.p. Ka-u (?)-sik-kid
For the family of Kausikkid
5 a-na dak du u (?) mas i-duk
for he killed
504
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [iS88.
6 pa-nis sar mat Ak-ka-pi-suk-ka
openly the king of the country oj Akkapisukka,
7 u a-na sin-bi mati-ka
and agaitist tivo-thirds of thy country
8 (ma-)rab lu el(?)-mu
exceedingly he approached (?)
9 ... ardu si-ma is-te-mi .?-ku
. . . the servant a report heard 1
10 .... ma BAR QA ta-kul-li
.... and half an ephah thou hast eaten (?) ;
11 (abnu?) MI all A-bi-is
the black {stone?) of the city of Abis ;
12 ... abnu bi-ri mi
. . . the stone of black appearance ;
13 .... la MI
black;
\\ ... abnu MI su-ul-ma-na
. . . the black stone of Solomon ;
15 . . . . ya (?)-si ma-du-ta . . .
.... nie (?) much ....
16 . . . . Gis ta(?) cc eru . . .
. . . the wood . . . 200 pieces of bronze ;
1 7 ... te (?) bi ra (?) rab . . . .
great cups (?) ....
18 ... . am X bilat . . .
10 talents . . .
19 si-ip-(ri) .
. . . . a Message .
20 ta . .
21 mu-khi ....
22 .... us khi-is
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGY.
[188S.
I must leave it to other scholars to extract a better sense out of
this important tablet, and to identify the numerous characters to
which, although clearly formed, I am unable to assign with certainty
any phonetic values. The meaning of the words which can be read
is in many cases equally obscure.
I. Mitsri is written instead of the Assyrian Mutsri, as in the
fragmentary annals of Nebuchadnezzar, showing that Mr. Pinches
was right in there rendering it by " Egypt."
7. Here we may read es-bi (" habitations " ?) instead of sinbi.
12. For bin see No. XIII, 2.
Reverse.
I . .
. . . su-pu . . .
2 .
. . . ya sa . . .
3 •
. . . ra ? la-a-hu . . .
4 •
. . . si-su ki-ma . . .
. his face iike? . . .
5 •
. . la mu-kan-nin suma
. no^ establishing ? a name
6 .
. i si-ip-ri-ya ma
. . my message thus :
7 •
. li-li-ki u at- (ta)
. jjiay he go, and do thou
8 .
. i si-ip-ri-ka ip . . . .
. . . thy fnessage he . . .
9 •
. . mu-kan mu-kan ma i pa ni
10 .
. . li-li-ki-ma
. . . may he go also.
No. IX.
A small tablet of light-coloured clay, minutely written ; much worn.
1 (A-na D.p. Ri-ib ?-) an-im pal ya
( To Rib ?)- Addu my son
2 (At-) ma sar KUR-KUR-Ki-at (matat)
(/ speak) : the king of the world
506
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18;
3 am-kha-ra-si (?) u
(says :) I have received it {?), and
4 ab-la-ti . arad bill
the children (?) of the servant of the lord.
5 ga a-na sar-ri bil-ya
For the king my lord
6 sepa bili-ya ana pan ili-ya
. . . (beneath) the feet of my lord, before my god,
7 VII su VII A-AN al-ku (ats)-ma-ad
7 times 7 I took, I subjugated.
'8 i-nu-ma is-tu ka-sa-ad
At that time after the conquest
9 D.p. A-ma-si ap-pa a-na mu-khi-i-a
of A mas is I came forth (1). To be over me
10 ka-li amili akhi amil Na . . .
all the men, the brothers of the Na . . . ,
1 1 pa-ni ba-nu a-na ya-si a-na . . .
the face made ; against me a
12 ka-nu bi-rit arad a-si-ir-(ta)
they established in the sight of (thy) righteous servant.
13 Si-ma-tav es-me bil-li
The report heard my lord
14 a (sic) pi-te-MES arad-su u
from the open mouth of his servant and
15 amili ma-tsa-ar-ta u
the men of the watch ; and
16 na-tsa-ar al sarri a-(sar)
the protection of the city of the king, the place
17 a-tsa tsa-bi bi-ta-ti ....
of the exit of the soldiers of Bitati ......
18 ga (?) ma (?) ya-nu ili bi-bi . . .
there are not the gods
19 u en-ni-ip-su ka (-li ?)
and there were jnade all (?)
.507
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
20 mati a-na . . . ga (?) mes si . . .
the countries for the
21 is-tu tsa-ma-ad ali . . si . .
after the subjugation of the city of
22 a-na bi-rit arad a-si-ir-ta
for the sight of the righteous servafit,
23 u ki ir na khir ma ru na
and
24 bi (?) -bi-ka alu Du-la-u-ya
the city of Dulauya
25 alu Tar-ru-na-Ki u si(-khir?)
the city of Tarrtma arid the extent of {?)
26 ka-li matati a-na amili
all the countries for the 7nen ....
27 II ali-Ki sa amil Iz (?) -ri (?) ...
the two cities of the people of
28 si-ma-tu la yu- (sap-par ?)
The report he does not setid (?)
29 es-tu pan ab sar-ri Samas ....
.... before the father of the king the Sun-god ....
30 bil-li amili ma-tsa-ar-ta
my lord: the meti of the watch
31 a-na y| alu Ni-na-a-Ki a(?)-nam(?). • . . (?)
for the same, the city of Nineveh /(.?)
32 ina tar-tsi ti-ar-ti
in the tiftie of the return
33 ? da na
34 mat E-nu u alu Sa-ab na-nu
the country of Enu arid the city of Sab
35 ki-ma itstsuri sa i-su-ri
like a bird which flies away
36 . . pa (?) kha ri u ki a bi (?) sa . .
508
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
37 na ma
38 ab-la-ki sa-nu-tu
thy son {?) the second
39 la a ma . . . . e
40 (? alu Du-) la-u-ya es-tu
the city of Dulauya ? ....
41
42
43
IZ KHAR tl
the floors
en-ni-ip-sa-at
were made
matati-Ki
countries
44 (arad) a-si-ir-ta
a righteous servant.
Edge.
1 .... AN UR-KU u
.... the divine dog and
2 .... sa matat sar-ri-ya
. ... of the coufitries of my king
The obliteration of the characters and our ignorance of the
signification of many of the words render it impossible to under-
stand the purport of this tablet. Its importance lies in the mention
of Amasis (line 9). In line i we seem to have the name of Rib-Addu
(as, according to Winckler, variants show the name should be
pronounced). See X, 28.
7. I suppose that aiku represents alqu, but it may signify " I
went." For atsmad " I yoked" or "subjugated," see Une 21.
9. Here the name of Amasis is written with shin, whereas in
the fragment of the annals of Nebuchadnezzar discovered by
Mr. Pinches it is written with samech. Appa must be a verb rather
than the noun appu "face," and I imagine it to belong to epu or
apu^ which in Assyrian has the sense of " coming forth."
12. As I have remarked elsewhere, the common preposition
birit is literally "(in) the sight," from baru "to see."
509
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILFIOLOGY. [1888.
The expression "servant of righteousness," i.e., "righteous
servant," is parallel to the expression " servant of justice " {arad
kitti) in II, 4.
14. As I have noticed above (I, Eev. 8) a is miswritten here for
pi, the scribe having been led into error by the fact that ^*- pi has
the value a.
17. Bitati is named along with other Syrian localities from which
wine was procured by Nebuchadnezzar (W.A.I. I, 65, 25). The
ideograph of "country" is omitted before it, apparently because
the scribe connected the word with bitii " house."
23. This line is unintelligible to me, unless we may read ki-mn
" like," instead of ki-ir. Nakhir Martina would then be " a dolphin
of Maruna."
24. The first character may be intended for /, the word being
i-hi-ka " he destroyed."
29. Estu is a new word to me.
31. The name of Nina is important, as it probably represents
Nineveh. None of the tablets however examined by Winckler and
Lehmann refer to Assyria.
41. We should read utsurati "floors."
No. X.
Tablet of yellow clay of rectangular form.
1 ana sar-ri sarru bil-(ya)
To the king: the king my lord
2 it-ta-su si-ma-te
has received the reports
3 sar-ri eli-su si-ma
of the king concerning himself ; hear I
4 lim-nu-u a-na-ku u-ul
hostile {am) I not
5 ma-tsa-ar-tu u u-ul
to the watch and not
6 ba-la-adh sarri a-na-ra
to the life of the king: I deliver up
7 ya-si u d.p. Pa-khu-nu
myself ; a7id Pakhunu
c.io
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
8 a-pa-ruv ib-sara ma
the conspiracy (?) has reported thus :
9 ana amilu A-si us-si-ir
' against the Asi I have directed
10 amili mat Ra(?)-tam u
the men of the country of Ra{?)tam, and
1 1 ardu (?) rabu amil Se-ir-ru u
the officer of the Serril,
12 u III amili u-Ni
and 3 men guards (?)
13 ina su-ri-ib a-na mat Mi-its-ri
at the entrafice into the land of Egypt,
14 u ma ni-pi-se mes
a?id also the ammunition
15 ti-sa-te ali Gu-tuk
the property of the city of Gutuk,
16 u ta(?)-li-e
and the arms (?)
17 sa ina ali(?) Pu-gur ib-su
which in the city {?) of Pugtir 7ve>'e,
18 istu ali A-bi-es is-tu
from, the city of Abes, from
19 gur-ri-ti A-bi-es
the road to Abes,
20 a-na ya-si : Si-ma-tav es-me
for ?7iyself. The report heard
21 sar-ru a {sic) pite ardu-su
the king from the open mouth of his servant
22 u pi pi-si-ra
and the month explanatory
23 amili ni-ga(?)-ti-pu . .
the men
24 ? ar-tam pani-su
before him
5^1
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [18S8.
25 zur(?)-bu Qi(?)-su a-na-ku
? his messenger (?) /.
26 si-mi .... a-mi-kha
The report {1^ . . . . I presented {J).
27 u-ul ti-im-mu (u)
Thou didst ?wt speak:
28 (d.p.) Ri-ib-AN-iM is-tap-ri
Rib-Addu he sent
29 (is)-tu eni-su sar matati
froin his eyes, O king of the world ;
30 u ta-am-kha-ar
and thou receivest
31 an(?) nin(?) sa gur te la
32 ti-di-en e-ga a-na
thou givest a croian. To
2,2, sar-ri bil-ya a-na
the king 7ny lord, at
34 sepi bil-ya si-par-ya
the feet of my lord my message
35 VII su VII si-par pi am-da-(akh-khar)
7 times 7 the message of my 7nouth I presented.
36 ka pi Mas-pu-ruv akhi
the mouth of Maspuru {my) brother
37 ru (a?)-mi-ra - ma ebu-us
/ supplied (?) and I made
38 a na-nu i-na
iji
39 a-bu-ti-ya
my forefathers
40 amili .... (na)-tsa-ar sarri
the men {for) the protection of the king
41 ti-su-nu u me-im-me
their .... and ichat
512
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
42 sar-(ru) nu u lim-nu-u
the king and an enemy
43 a-na-ku ya-nu ba-la-adh
/ ain not to the life
44 sar-ri-ya ana ya-si-ma
of my king : as to myself indeed
45 ya-nu arad a-si-ir-ti
it is not (so) ; (/ am) a righteous servant
46 sar-(ri) ti-ya a-na
of the king ; my (righteousfiess ?) (is) to (be)
47 i-na ya
in the (service?) of my (king?)
48 (a-na) na-tsa-(ar) ni-is(?)
to protect
49 a mi
50 (a)-na
for
5 1 am ill ma-tsa-ar-(tu)
the men of the guard.
Edge.
1 . . . . MES i-na mati Ni-?-ri-si
.... the . . . in the country of Ni . . risi.
2 (a)-nu si-mi-ya-si a-nu ma-rab
JVbw hear me. Now greatly
3 . . la ta-din d.p. Mas-pu-ru a-na episi
.... thou givest Maspuru for the work.
4 ki-ma a-sum-ma us-mu
Like a siimer (?) I wait (?)
2. Ittasu is the iphteal of nasu.
4. The construction in this line shows that the writer could
not have been a Babylonian.
6. Anara is literally " I put a yoke on," " enslave."
7. Fakhunu seems to be an Egyptian name.
513
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY, [1888.
8. Ibsara is from the well-known basdru, Heb. '^';l7n- Aparu
means "a girdle" or "crown," akin to the verb aparu, "to cover;"
here, however, some sense like that of " conspiracy " seems to be
required. But the word may be a proper name, agreeing with
Pakhunu.
9. According to Prof. Maspero Asi is the reading of the Egyptian
name of Cyprus.
12. u-Ni is new to me.
15. I derive tisate from isti, "to possess." We may read Gudug
as well as Gutuk.
18, 19. For Abes see VIII, 11. Gurriti seems to be another
form oi girriti.
26. I do not know whether the root of amikha is ainakhu or
)iiakhii.
28. According to Winckler variants give Addu in place of an im.
See IX, I.
41. Memme is probably identical with ini/nina.
Edge 4. I suppose that usmu has the same root as usmanu,
"a camp," although it is tempting to compare the Heb. Dlt^b^-
No. XL
Small tablet of dark clay, finely written. The commencement is
destroyed.
Obverse.
7 alu Tsu-mu-(ra) ....
The city of Siniyra ....
8 lim-ni-it sup-li
the hostility 0/ those below ....
9 AN bar(?)qa(?) matati u
coiintries and
10 Bir (?)-na-ni sar Ta-bal
£ir{?)nani the king of Tubal
11 D.p. KUR-RA-MES a-na ya-si
{sent) the horses to me,
12 u us-pi-ra be-la-ta
ajid he directed the tribute
514
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
13 ki-ma ar-khi-es
as in haste
14 a-na ali Tsu-mu-ra a-na
to the city of Sii?iyra, Jor
15 na-tsa-ri-MES ka-li
the protection of all
1 6 amili ma-tsa-ar-ti
the men of the watch,
17 sa-a ir-ti-khu mar-tsa
who armed themselves with difficulty.
18 ru amili
(? There tvatched) the men
19 i-na ri-mu ali sarri
in the habitations of the city of the king,
20 la-a na (?)... . Ki-ta kar
not (?) beloiv the quay
2 1 ya(? )-si-ru-na u
they had directed ; and
7. Tsumura is the Tsimirra of the Assyrian inscriptions, the
Zemar of Gen. x, 18, the Simyra of classical geography.
9. Perhaps we may read " the Sun-god of the world " (an ut
mataii).
10. It is very doubtful whether ^^ can signify "king" in a
Babylonian inscription of this date, and I should therefore prefer
to make tabal a derivative from abalu, " to bring," and render " 20
convoys of horses."
17. Irtikhu from ratakhu, whence tartakhu, "a spear."
19. Rimu from ramu, "to dwell."
Reverse.
1 (a-na) sar-ri bili-ya
to the king, my lord
2 Samsi-ya at-ma d.p, Ri-ib-AN-iM
my Sim-god I speak, Rib-Addu
3 ardu-ka ma-a su-lum ana bil-ya
thy servant, thus: Peace to my lord
515
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
4 epis-tu-ya vii su vii ta-an
is my work seven times seven.
5 sar rabu-tu d.p. yu-me sar-ru
O king of the mighty, divine day, the ki?ig
6 bil-li a-na-ku arad
my lord ; I the servafit
7 ki-ti-su ma-ri-its ma-rab
of his justice have been very sick.
8 a-na ya-si ga-rib nukur-tum
Against me approached hostility
9 a-na abli arad a-si-ir-ta i-ru-bu
against the sons of the righteous servant they marched
10 i-na mat A-khar-ra-a ka-su-(si)
itito Phoenicia, conquering
1 1 ka-li mati-Ki alu Tsu-mu-ri
all the coutitry ; the city of Simyra
12 u alu Ra-mas-ta ir-ti-khu
and the city of Ramantha armed themselves
13 a-na amilu rabu u a-nu-ki i-na
against the governor, and I ifi
14 ali Tsu-mu-(ra) ali I-ni-se-ti-ti
the city Simyra, the city of Inisetiti,
15 i-nu-ma ma-ri-its amilu rabu
at that time 7vas sick. The governor
16 eli nukur-ti i-ti-ri
in regard to the attack understood {?).
1 7 alu Du-la-u-ya
The city of Didauya
18 D.P. Zi-im-khu ut
Zimkhut
19 D.P. Ya-pa-AN-iM
Yapa-Addu
20 A-nu-ki ki
/ ivhcn
5'6
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. 1888.
Edge.
1 Ya-nu alu Ak(?)-kut-ti-ni ina mat Khu . . .
There is the city of Ak{?)h(ttini in the country of Khu . . .
2 a-na .... u gu-ma-tu-MES mu ....
for .... and
3 kas-su-sa-at ka-li matati[-Ki]
conquering all the countries
4 ina ni bar ku . . . sar-ri
in of the king.
6, 7. The meaning is " his just servant."
12. The polyphony of the first two characters makes the
reading Rd-7nas-ta very doubtful. Ramantha, however, lay near
Simyra, and is now represented by Ladakiyeh.
17. For the city of Dulauya see IX, 24.
20. Winckler and Lehmann point out that anuki instead of the
Babylonian anaku may be due to the influence of the Phcenico-
Hebrew atwchi.
No. XII.
Fragment of black clay, of which only the end of the obverse
is preserved.
I su-ni-su-nu eli . . . .
. . . their over ....
2 alu (?) an-na-am a-na-ku ...
this {city ?) I . . .
3 tum-su-nu amili ....
their .... the men ...
4 am-mi-ni-im-ma a-na-(ku)
wherefore {ani) I
5 u ru se khir an . . .
and
6 u i-ra-as-si ....
atid he possesses ....
7 at-si . . . su-nu-ma a-(na-ku)
/ them^ and I
517 2 R
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHz:EOLOGY. [i?
8 u-ma si-ip-ri as-(piir)
thus the message sent
9 a-na pa-ni an-ut-si
to the presence of the Sun-god . . .
10 i-na-an-na at-(ma)
Again I speak:
11 (Sid-)ni-na sar mat
O Sid{?)nina king of the country of . .
12 am-mi-ni mi-na ....
why what ....
13 yu-tsa-bat mi-(na) ....
has he seized, what ....
14 is-pur ma 11 su . . . .
has he sent also twice . .
15 u ki-ya-am ik-(bi)
a7id thus has he said :
16 u a-na mat Mi-its-ri . . .
ajid to the country of Egypt . .
17 sum ma-mi-tu se-pa ....
the na?ne of an oath under ....
18 a-nu-um-ma
now
19 Sid-ni-na tirtu ri-im ...
O Sid{?)nina, the reading
20 it-ti-ya i-na ki-ir-(bi)
with me in the middle
21 ti-la-MES ma-la-a ir-rid . . .
of the mounds as many as
23 te-ik-bi ti-la-MES bi-nu-ru (^?) ...
thou hast said : the mou7ids
24 (lu-)u i-te-mi sum ma-mi-(ti)
verily he has pro?iou?iced the name of the oath
25 ali Ni(?)-i-na(?)
. . . the city of N . (?)
518
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [S881.
II, 19. It is unfortunate that the first character should have so
many values : mis, rid, sid, lak, &c.
19. ^ j^yy, according to W.A.I. II, 27, 47, is to be read:
tirtuv sa sipri, " knowledge of writing."
21. Perhaps we should read ideographically ti-la-mes, "life."
No. XIII. A and B.
Two large fragments belonging to a single tablet or slab of clay
of very great size, and probably of rectangular form.
A.
1 IX KHU sa Gis DAN (u) abnu i alpu abni du-ul-lu-di
9 birds of usu wood (and) stone ; i bull of stojie
2 IX ur-riq-te mi sa imma bi-ri gal-gal
9 green-sfoties dark of ... . an amount very great.
3 IX sa-am-mu sa imma bi-ri pa kas (?) ip-si-ba
9 plants of .... an amomit -
4 X e-u-khum khum-mu-khu sa imma bi-ri pa (kas ?)
10 houses of of ... . an amount
5 XXIX ki-is-pu-u sa gis-bar nakri sa (imma bi-)ri pa kas ?
29 gourds of of a foreign tree of .... an amoiint
6 khi-gar lukh pap khum-mu-khu ra (?)-nu bu
a . . . pure {?), foreign (?)
7 ku-ru-ba-nu sa imma bi-ri pa kas (?)
crows (.?) of ... . an amount
8 CCCLXXV LUKH PAP IMMA bi-ri PA kas (?) a
375 foreign products (?) . , . an amount
9 XIX gis-dan khum sa imma bi-ri pa-kas (?)
19 wsM-trees .... of .... an amount
10 XIX te-ti nakri abni sa imma bi-ri pa kas (?)
19 ieii foreign of stone of .... a?i amoinit
Ill AN abu KUR-na abni sa imma bi-ri kas (?) [ar-da]
one divine father of stone of ... . an amount . . . [dot?iestic'\
12 (i)ii sa ri-e-si sa imma bi-ri
3 of which the heads (are) of ... . an amount.
519 2 R 2
JQNE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
13 (1)1 ku-ku-pu sa imma bi-ri pa kas (?) [ku-u-pi sum-su]
2 kukupu of ... . an aiiioufit [kupi {is) its name]
14 I alpu sa LUKH PAP sa imma bi-ri pa kas(?)
o)ie ox of foreign origin (?) of . . . . an amoimt
35 KHU sa LUKH PAP Sa IMMA bi-ri PA KAS(?)
. . . bird{s) of foreign origin (?) of .... an amount
16 Gis id-du arqu(?)-tim(?) sa imma bi-ri pa kas(?)
iddu wood green (?) of .... an amount
17 .... kas-su-di i alpu i-na-din am-su
.... acquisitions ; otie ox ; he gives its 7uild ox.
18 ru sa imma bi-ri pa kas(?)
of .... an ainoimt
In spite of the novelty of so many of the words, and my inability
to identify several of the characters, the nature of the tablet to which
these fragments belonged is very evident. It was an inventory of
certain property belonging to the Egyptian king, and stored by him
in his new capital of Khu-Aten, " the glory of the solar disk."
1. Usu or esu wood (W.A.I. II, 45, 48, Strassmaier 2734) was
expressed by ideographs denoting "the strong wood." It has
nothing to do with esu "a girdle," but is, I beheve, derived from
the name of the district of Edom known as lU^J^ in the Old Testa-
ment. Usu was the name of a Phoenician city which the Assyrian
monuments describe as lying on the coast a little to the south of
Acre, and it corresponds with the Usha of the Talmud. Phoenician
mythology placed Usoos in the next generation to the race of giants
after whom the mountains of Kasios and Lebanon were named, and
made him the inventor of boats and of skins for vvearing-apparel, as
well as the first who consecrated Bethels to the worship of the fire
and wind, and sacrificed animals.
Tlie first and last character of du-ul-lu-di are not quite certain.
2. Urriqu is given as the name of a green stone in W.A.I. II,
26, 53. The character, of which the Accadian value was imma, is
explained by tsfimu, "thirst," in AV.A.I. V, 31, 37, II, 17, 23.*
This, however, cannot be its signification here. The Accadian imma
is rendered by belutu, "lordship," W.A.I. , IV, 21, 27.
* The ideograph is composcfl of the characters for " mouth," and " white "
tlirough thirst.
520
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
3. I have supposed that biri represents Mm, " product," but it
may be biru, "appearance." The character which follows pa is
new to me, and I cannot suggest any interpretation of either the
one or the other.
5. For kissu, "gourds," see W.A.I. I. 42, i.
6. The three first words of this line are all equally unknown to
me. From line 8 it appears probable that lukh-pap means " foreign
product " ; li^ is certainly " foreign," and ^^< is " a messenger."
7. Kurubu is "crow," W.A.I. II, 37, 17.
9. Khum seerns a contraction of khumvmkhu.
II. The gloss arda seems to be upon the last character of
the line.
13. The kukupu is further on described as being of stone ;
consequently it cannot be kukubanu, " the entrance of the stomach "
(W.A.I. II, 40, 7); nor can Mpi be the Egyptian a:D0<, "a medicme,"'
or the Hebrew ?^1p, " an ape."
17. I follow Lotz in rendering a;;;^?^ by "elephant"
B. — Obverse.
1 XIII za-raq kha-ru sa ina a-gi zi-ya-at rak-nim (?)
13 lambs {?) .... which {were) in a crown (J)
sum-su
{is) its name.
2 VII sal-li-KHU sa ti-lul(?)-ki sa (agi ?) abni
7 salli birds wliich {were) . of . . . . of the stojie
AN santu MI
{called) the dark turquoise
3 VII ga-nu-u sa mi-ki-da . . . u sa Cagi ?)
7 canes which the flame .... of ...
4 XIV ga-nu-u da-la-li-su sa (? agi)
14 cables for carpets {T) of ....
5 I ma-zi-lu Gis be-iii-ti sa (agi?)
one mazilu of the wood of the goddess of ....
6 I ga-nu-u da-ma-mi ki-pak-ki-num (?) nakri sa (agi ?)
one cane foreign of
bar-si
half a tniTieh{1)
521
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
7 VI te-bu-u sa (agi ?) ?-te-su-nu ku(?)-ri-mi-te
6 tebu of ... their
8 I mu-ul(?)-li(?) sa gis zi-mi-i sa (agi?)
one .... of of zimi ivood of ... .
9 kal (?) na-ku biti sa abni
altogether {?).... of a house of stone
10 IV na-ab-bat te-gur ar-ri sa (agi?)
4 nabbat of . . .
1 1 I QAR-QAR-GAL (agi ?) sa sarr-ut sarri
one great qarqar of . . . for the kingdom of the king
1 2 kal (?) na-ku (?) ma sepi (agi ?) sa tur
altogether (?) of the feet of . . . which {is) sjnall.
1 3 I lamassu (agi ?) sa tur sa sinnestu sarri
one colossus of . . . which (is) small for the wife of the king
14 I lamassu (agi) sa tur sa tur-rak-II
one colossus of wliich {is) small for the daughter
sarri
of the king.
15 II Gis-TE-MES sa GIS su-ban (?)-su-ki (agi?) sa tur
2 thrones of the wood of of which {are) small.
i6 II gis-te-mes sa gis su-ban(?)-su-ki (agi?) sal khu zu
2 thrones of ... . wood of . . .
17 I Gis-MA sa GIS ERIN e-ri nakri (agi?) sal khu zu mas te ur ni(?)
one ship of cedar wood foreign of
as-te-mes-su
its seats.
1 8 kal (?) VI GIS . . KHi-A ? du-ti sa i-di at ga ?
Altogether (?) 6 trees which the hands
19 I GIS maialu (agi?) sa tur sepi-su dan-khi-a
one wooden couch of . . . which {is) small, its feet {are) strong.
20 I GIS maialu (agi?) sa tur: sa ri-e-si
one couch of . . . which {is) small: of tvhich the head {is)
(agi ?) sa tur
of . . . which {is) small.
522
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
21 V Gis-PA TUR tu-ku (agi?) sa tur
5 sceptres small , . . . of . . . which {are) small.
22 I GIS-PA TUR tu-ku (agi?) sa tur
one small sceptre .... of . . . which {is) small.
23 yy Gis GU-ZA sa ... sal-khu-zu
2 throfies which
I. Zaraqu means "to pour out libations," and zirqu is "a lamb "
according to W.A.I. V, 28, 6. Kharic is possibly identical with
the Egyptian Khar, "Phoenicia," in case this is not to be read
Khal.
In place of a-gi, elsewhere a character is written which seems
to be a compound of J]^ and ^>-^y|-<^.
4. I suppose that ganii represents qanfi, and that dalabi-su is
from dalabu (W.A.I. II, 35, 56). Dalbu is rendered misu^ "clean."
6. Barsi, or par si, may be bar-sa, which occurs frequently in the
contract tablets.
9. See lines 12 and 18. One of the values of <^y was kalu,
and it is possible that the character is here used for kal, " every-
thing."
1 7. The phonetic eri is added after the ideograph of erin, " cedar."
Reverse.
3 I ku-ku-pu sa abni . . . su i-lu-da sum-su
one kukupu of stone iluda {is) its name.
4 AN Gi-ra-te sa (abni) 11 katu ra-bu-u sa abni khi-na
The god Girate of stone {with) 2 great hands of stone ....
5 AN UT khi(?)-bu-u sa abni sa abni
a Sun-god of stone of stone.
6 I ga-an-tu si(?)-si-te-ku(?) sa abni'
one of stone.
7 II a-ga-nu-du abni xxxviii is ,,,... .
2 bowls {T) of stone, 38
8 I LUKH PAP sa abni gis tu-?-a sum-su
one foreign product {^) of stone, {is) its name.
9 AN ku-ku-pu sa abni na-am-sa sum-su
the divine kukupu of stone ; namsa {is) its ?iame.
523
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
10 II sa ri-e-si kak-ku-te sa abni
2 of which the heads are pointed with stone,
11 I sa ri-e-si kak-ku-te sa abni ki-se-e
one of which the head is pointed with the stofie of Ciish (?),
1 2 I za-raq kha-ru sa ina yy zi-at rak-nim sum-su
one lamb (?) .... which (is) in the same ; {is) its name.
13 IX LUKH UT sa abni ut pi-ab-za sum-su
9 white products {?) of white stone ; pi-abza (is) its name.
14 na-ap-kha-ar u-nu-te-MES ri-ku-te sa abni
In all the furniture carved out of stone (amounts to)
15 C su-si XIV III
one hundred sosses and 14 x 60 -|- 3 ( = 6843) •
16 cxvii abni ma-li-te sa amil su-i
117 stones unworked belonging to the eunuch
[7 IX Gis di-man(?)-nu sa gis nun imma bi-ri du(?)-ul-(lu-di)
9 of royal wood . . . a?i amount
18 II GIS di-man (?)-nu sa gis DAN imma bi-ri du(?)-ul-lu-di
2 of usu wood . . . an amount
12. It is difificult to determine whether the expression, "the
same," refers to the agi of Obv. i, or to " the divine kukupu " men-
tioned just above.
14. Rikute is Uterally "hammered," Heb. J^p'l.
16. Malite is Uterally "full," or complete."
su-i is interpreted gallabu "a razor," in W.A.I. II, 46, 47. "The
man of the razor," however, cannot be "the barber," as his name
was written differently according to W.A.I. II, 24, 58.
I doubt whether many of the names of objects in the above list
are Assyro-Babylonian. Egyptian scholars will be able to say whether
such words as ktipi^ namsa, &c., added by the scribe are of Egyptian
origin. They are certainly not Assyrian.
By way of conclusion, I would draw attention to the curious
legend preserved by Macrobius (Saturn. I, 23, 10), which accounted
for the introduction of the worship of the Egyptian Sun-god into
Baalbek. His words are : " Assyrii quoque Solem sub nomine
524
June 5] , PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
Jovis, quem Dia Heliopoliten cognominant, maximis ceremoniis cele-
brant in civitate quae Heliopolis nuncupatur ; ejus dei simulacrum
sumptum est de oppido ^gypti, quod et ipsum Heliopolis appellatur,
regnante apud -^gyptios Senemure, seu idem Senepos nomine fuit ;
perlatumque est primum in eam per Opiam legatum Deleboris regis
Assyriorum sacerdotesque ^gyptios, quorum princeps fuit Partemetis;
diuque habitum apud Assyrios postea[quamJ Heliopolim commi-
gravit."
It is worth notice that the two names Se-nemuris and Se-nepos
bear some resemblance to Nimmuriya and Napkhururiya, with the
Egyptian se " son " prefixed, while the latter part of the names of
Delebores and Burna-buryas is also similar. But it must be re-
membered on the other hand that the Heliopolis to which Macrobius
refers is Baalbek, and that his " Assyrians " are really " Syrians." *
* Copies of these texts will be published as soon as possible.
5^5
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1888.
A BABYLONIAN TABLET.
By Theo. G. Pinches.
The accompanying text, which Mr. Rylands kindly allowed me
to copy, is inscribed on a small oblong tablet of unbaked clay,
about 2f%in. long by i|^in. broad. The inscription, which is in the
Babylonian style, is exceedingly well written, but is unfortunately
mutilated and indistinct in some places. The injuries which the
text has received seem to be mostly modern, the tablet having been
given (so Mr. Rylands informs me) to a workman "to clean and
mount." A series of scratches which give the surface a kind of
"grain," and which seem to have been produced by sandpaper or
a file, testify to his efforts in the cleaning line ; and the partial
obliteration of lines 1-3, 13-18, 30 and 31, tell of his attempts to
make the ends of a suitable shape to allow of their being inserted
in a kind of pedestal. Apparently, also, he found that he was
damaging the object too much, the writing having disappeared in
some places, so he tried to imitate the appearance of writing by
sundry scratches which, although they have filled up the spaces
originally occupied by the text, have tended neither to improve the
tablet nor make what remained more readable.
Transcription. Translation.
Ha-li-la-nu sa parzilli Pipes (?) of iron
ub-
3. na- .... -na-ki
irba-hassu ma-na gam-ru 45 7nana complete^ the weight
napalsuhu
esrit ha-li-la-nu of 10 pipes {})
6. Irbit Du-muk 4 {frofn) Dumu^
hassit Abi-gi-e-du 5 {from) Abi-gedu
salsit Bel-isdi-ia-ukin 3 {from) Bei-isdla-ukin
9. Salsit §adu-rabu-iddin 3 {from) Sadti-rabii-iddin
irbit (amelu)Ma-ma-ta-ka-ru" 4 {from) the Mamatakaru'"
Sissit Nabd-za-kir 6 {fvin) Nabii-zakir
526
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., June, I J
t -^ ITT T J^.^n -7^^^
J:y ^ At Y >W=^
^ 15 ^ « - ;? T? ^4f
Edge: ^ ^][^ -^Hf^ >^T "T^
Reverse.
i8 4lT^^<TT^iiP^
T T Tf J4=T c:
y r -.^TH i^^T V/ ^T
^i T T -^T >flf<f ^;f ^\
TTT T jet ^r\ ^
>TCL^T«<(?) ^^-^^^T^-H-T^
24 V4J^^T>4<¥T->f ^-J^^Ti^^T>^
^ <T- T ^ ^T^T "7^
YYY
YYY
^T .4 "ET ^ "^T
2 7 -<T- T -+ InTT "^T^T T? T? 't^
;T ^T ^4 "^T 4 -T
TT *m -<T- T -^TIL ^T V7 ^
30 1 ^ i I I I
Edge : - <B? !=T^ 4 <TT "^
Tablet ix the Possession of Mrs. Daubeney.
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
Lii
12. salsit Pa-da-nu
napharis tam
-ir
15. amelu a-na
an
ha-li-la-nu
24.
27.
3°-
3 {from) Padanu
altogether ....
the man to
. . pipes (?)
Reverse.
[8. ki
Estin Si-e- (?) bi
estin Bel-isdi-ia-ukin
estin Abi-gi-e-du
salsit Pa-da-nu
I {from) Sebi (?)
I {from) Bel-isdia-ukin
I {from) Ahi-gedu
3 {from) Padanu {and)
est-en-te selasa (?) ha-li-la-nu the ist {?) 30 {?) pipes (?)
sa hi-bil-ti sa D.P. Bu-ne-ne- which {are) the pledge {J) of Bunene-
ibni ibni
ina pan Pa-da-nu m the possession of Padanu.
Sissit ma-na ma-hi-is 6 7nana stamped
ina pan D.P. Nergal-da-a-a-nu in the possession of Nergal-daanu
sussan ma-na ma-hi-is
\ of a mafia stamped
san-u ina pan Bel-isdi-ia-ukin again, in the possession of Bel-
isdia-ukin
Inaarah Aari, ilmu [§anesrit] In the month lyyar, \2th day.
Remarks.
I. The word halilatiu, which is not quite clear in the original,
is made quite certain by a comparison with hnes 5, 17, and 23.
Halilayiu is the plural of halilu, of which the construct form,
^■^ "^^I-^ ^^Tl.' li<^-^^-^^} occurs in the Rev. J. N. Strassmaier's
Inschriften von Nabonidus, p. 217 (358, 1. i). With this word may
be compared the Heb. h^hT\, pipe or iiute, so called from its being
pierced ihh'H to pierce). Halil parzilli and halildnu sa parzilli
probably mean therefore "tube of iron" and "tubes of iron,"
possibly for the conveyance of water. Another word for tube is
apparently ^J^ J^f, di-du, which translates the Akkadian ^>ff
imi ; and we find also the expressions -^>^ ^^w "5^' ^'"■'' ^^'^^^ =
527
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [1S88.
did tibni, "pipe of straw" "halm" (for tibni, gen. oi tib?i7i, compare
Heb. p^, Arab, ^j-^)', -^^ E^^w V" "^^T ^"'^ in-nu-ri =■
dUtlti, "pipe of a reed (?)"; -(^Jff ^^ ]^I^ -'^Ty = ^^'^ /^'
apparently "tube of the mouth," the Akkadian equivalent, with its
plural ending (-i^yy)' suggesting a series of pipes for producing
different sounds ; -<^>ff V l!^! -^^Ty — ^^'^ ulapi, " pipe of the
districts around ( ? ) " ; and ^>^ ^TT ^TT = kunukku, and
-^•ff ^TT •^in "tin """^y = kamku, both meaning, apparently,
" cylinder-seal," so called in Akkadian from these objects being
pierced with a hole. ■<^'^j however, seems also to have meant
"channel or bed of a river." Cf. W.A.I. , V, pi. 27, 1. 10 and 11 :
■^•^ fc^^ Ty >-^T """^T' ij'ii-gii-(i-(tbba = kadut tdmti, "bed of
the sea," -<^4f *^^-^ Ty 0 E?TT' imi-gu-idda = ^^Af/ ;zan,
" channel of a river."
2 and 3. The obliteration of these two lines is owing to the
modern erasure mentioned above.
4. The character "^ is rather indistinct, but the word implied
by the context is that here given, namely gamru. The last
character of this line, which is written as If—, 7tie^ is no doubt
intended for y^, lal^ forming, with the foregoing character, the
group i^^ y^, ki-lal, a group which is equivalent to the Semitic
Babylonian napalsuhu, " to weigh."
7. y t^^y >ff-<^ ^Y ^y' Abi-gedu. A parallel to this name
occurs on the tablet 88-5-12, 98, 1. 8 : y "t^^y ^ ^ "^y,
Abi-btlu, "The father (or my father) rules (?)." Abi-gedu probably
means "The father (or my father) binds fast."*
9. Instead of SadH-rabH-iddin^ it would, perhaps, be better to
read Bel-iddin.
13-18. In line 13 the erasure is apparently ancient, and really
consists, in the original, of a broad and rather deep line, which the
modern improver has tried, apparently, to imitate at the end of the
reverse. Seemingly, also, lines 14 and 16 have been anciently
* Were it not for the name Abi-gedu, the name Ahi-hibi might, as the Rev.
C. J. Ball has suggested to me, be read Adbilu, and compared with the Heb.
7X31Xj Adbeel, with which it would then correspond exactly. Adgedu is also
a possililc reading, instead of Abi-gedu. Did the Babylonians borrow the
Akkadian word ad "father?"
528
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888,
erased and written over, as the writing is exceedingly close here.
Lines 16-18. however, have also suffered damage at a recent date.
In line 15, the first character may be >i^, and not '^^.
19. The second character of the name is doubtful. The reading
Sisidi is a possible one, but Sei?t has been chosen as the more
probable, as the second character differs in form from the first, being
more like ^^ than ^y.
23. Estente — so, apparently, is the group >^I][^ "^J to be
transcribed. It is to be noted, however, that although the meaning
fits, yet both that and the transcription can hardly be regarded
as certain. Compare, however, line 21 of the second column of
the Cuthean account of the Creation, where we have the phase
y *-\^ >-<y< "T^ >^yy ^^yy, eUenU la Uura, "the first did not return."
24. Hibilti. Apparently this word is from the same root as
hubtdhi, which also means " pledge." Compare the Heb HT'iin
If the meaning of " pledge " be the correct one, it sheds new light
on the phrase musallitmi hibilti-sun on the cylinder of Sargon, line 4,
and the Bronze Inscription of the same king, line 9. If the proper
name y \Y ':^^ ^ (W.A.I., II, 63, 1. 38, 82-7-14, 206, 1. 6)
is to be read Ifabildu, and comes from the same root, it shows an
interesting change of the / of the feminine ending into d after the
sound of /.
26 and 28. The word "^y .<^ ty is apparently to be read
mahis (with V as final consonant), from the root tnahasu, " to strike."
It probably signifies pieces of silver struck or marked with their
value.
30. The lines and strokes here are a weak attempt to reproduce,
by means of type, the state of the original, which is very much
damaged in this place. In line 31, the first three characters of the
date are rather indistinct.
The year in which this tablet was written is not stated, but it
probably belongs to the same period as the one published by
Strassmaier {see above), and regarded by him as belonging to the
reign of Nabonidus. This latter is dated simply " loth day of Tisri,
9th year," without any king's name. The peculiar writing of ][][^
for ^X. and "^n^ for %^\ is noteworthy.
529
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
[1888.
TEXTES 6GYPTIENS IN^DITS.
PAR Karl Piehl.
No. I. Statue d'Osiris, conservee h la Glyptothfeque de Munich.
Traduction : " Le roi de la Haute et de la Basse Egypte Osiris-
Unnefer, prince de I'eternite, dieu grand, le iir-fep de Seb,* celui
qui preside a I'Occident, fils de Nout. Qu'il accorde vie-sante-force,
une longue duree de vie, une vieillesse grande et belle a Ra-aartus
fils de Fe-tu-iset et qui a eu pour mere Ta-n-hebi. Qu'Osiris donne
la vie, a Rd-aartus etc.
* Le dieu Seb — ou Keb — ^jouait dans I'Egypte primitive le role de divinite
supreme. A cette epoque, Osiris, le fils aine du dieu, etait sans doute subordonne
i son pere. Peut-etre, le titre ^^=f '^^> 1 I '^'Osiris, est-il une
reminiscence de cette subordination. Alors, iir-tep comnie titre de particuliers
[Bergmann, Recucil de Vieweg, VI, p. 165] est probabkment i regarder
de la meme manierc que D dans le meme eniploi [p. ix dans I'expression
^ — ^/ ^ ^ n fl^
n n ^S>-^ 1 " le ^rpa h. la place ( = remplarant !) de Seb ']. Dans
un memoire, " le Dictionnaire hieroglyphique de Brugsch," insere au Muscon 1882,
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
Les textes sont distribues de sorte que a occupe le dossier, b le
cotd droit, c le cote gauche de notre statue. Le monument n'est
gubre anterieure a I'^poque saite.
No. 2. Statue accroupie en basalte, appartenant au musee
d'Athenes. Inscription, trace'e en 8 lignes horisontales sur le devant
du monument :
Uf^SYf^-'i'^-^§lY?
0 I7\/V
Traduction : " Proscyneme a Hathor, maitresse d'Aphrodito-
polis, qu'elle accorde tout ce qui apparait sur sa table d'offrandes,
chaque jour, de sortir et d'entrer a la maison du roi, d'etre dans la
faveur de I'habitant du palais, d'arriver la-bas (////. : ici-bas) a une
belle sepulture, dans I'annee de la beatitude, au ka du prince heritier,
tresorier, ami unique, celui que le roi a eleve', celui qui est etabli
depuis son enfance, dont le calame a procure une place de distinction
a ses pieds, prepose aux travaux du midi et du nord, celui qui fait la
volonte (chante la louange ?) des seigneurs d'An, scribe royal Ra."
nous avons, le premier, explique tant I'etymologie que le sens originaire du mot
n . L'explication, presque identique a la notre, que vient de donner M.
Maspero ^Journal Asiatique 1888, Fevrier, p. 264] n'est done nullement nouvelle,
et " le petit fait de mythologie dont" — selon ce dernier savant — "on a jusqu'a
present neglige de tenir compie " ne nous avait point echappe, quoique la forme
de notre memoire ne nous permit pas de parler de la maniere circonstanciee dont
a use M. Maspero dans son article d^M. Journal Asiatique. — Nous connaissons done
deja deux echelons de la hierarchic primitive de I'Egypte. Malheureusement, il
est peu probable que nous tombions jamais sur un manuel, semblable a celui du
Pap. Wilbour, ou Ton peut voir s'echelonner hierarchiquements les membres de
I'aristocratie prehistorique de I'Egypte. C'est que les ^^gyptiens, eux-meme, avait
perdu la memoire des epoques anterieures a I'histoire.
53^
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
La texte renferme plusieurs fautes I'dvidentes : ■{ ^ I ^^ M ,
au lieu de -T ^ ' ^ (] J^Cl ; ^^ ^, au lieu de 0 ^ ;;_ ,
Notre traduction a adopte les corrections que nous venons de
proposer.
Le monument date probablement de la XVI IP dynastie.
No. 3. Statue assise en basalte, appartenant en mus^e
d'Athbnes. Le cote droit du monument porte en sens vertical :
Le cot^ gauche donne, comme pendant de inscription qu
prdcbde, le texte suivant : H ? ""^ "^^ k rffi^l c^ (1 _^ &
irjm%.T\ °' ^ ^ "
Date probablement de I'ancien empire.
No. 4. Statue agenouillee, provenant de la meme collection
que le No. 3. Le tablier est orne de deux lignes d'hidroglyphes
verticaux, dont voici la reproduction integrale :
1 A -^^ "f^ <"=' 0 £! ® o t /^ ~^ n ^ f) '^^^
Je lis le nom du defunt Manch-ba-tet* m'appuyant sur des noms
propres, comme '^^^^^ ^ H , \^, etc.
/VVVVVA i^
No. 5. Table d'offrandes en granit noir. Mustfe d'Athenes.
532
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1S88.
□ «
.iraAii^f^v
V tt-
Le monument date de I'epoque saite.
No. 6. Statuette funeraire en bois. Musee d'Ath^nes. A
appartenu a
n I
dti^ f\ ^ I 111 222:^1) t^^^:
V _i-r\S dJ '-^v' I I /www
Un autre monument de la meme espece porte nom de
mnm
i
No. 7. Une statue accroupie en basalte noir porte du devant,
entouree d'un cadre qui a I'air tres moderne, I'inscription que voici :
Cl k r^ AAAAAA ^ rvVA/WA (~\ V V «=J
.^
bsU-J I
A^-a "^ ^g:-L M^ (^'-o |# I . ^ 3- nH
I n
I .
I A Q'
Q=>>
I o
Le monument qui se voit au musee d'Athenes, date bien certaine-
ment de I'epoque saite. Est-que I'inscription en est fausse? Je
serais dispose a le croire.
No. 8. Fragment de statue, conserve au musee de Berlin.
Autour du socle court en deux lignes horisontales le texte
suivant :
ffflJfSO^sl
ni.^
KPSir:fti]&^i^j^s°^
^^
533
2 s
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
_a (=11
<0 ^-^-^ o 1 -IT .^^vv _^j^o— f^ 1 ^Sc:^ M / — I <2>- I V
D c. §> I / — a^^o s^ o
Z^^^^sA £l^
Actuellement, je suis dans Timpossibilite de traduire complete-
ment ce texte qui ne me parait point exacte. Pour ne citer qu'un
exemple, la clause finale ne pent signifier que : " Que la bouche ne
cesse de dire les louanges du prophete d'Hathor de Memphis, Jiem-
nef-Hor-bak, ne de la dame Tasnecht" Mais alors le mot "cesser,"
qui se dit en egyptien "^^^j AA , "^^^ "^^^ , a ^te dcrit d'une
mani^re fautive par le Tipi T qui a ete charg^ de I'execution de
notre texte.
[^poque saite.
No. 9. La stele 7308 de Berlin. En haut, au-dessous du
disque solaire, appele f^ | 1 () P *=^^^^^ ^v ^ ' °^ ^°'^ ^"^
representation qui nous fait voir le defunt "S^ A^ A__D
_25& [JO ^ a cote d'une table d'offrandes, et vis-a-vis
de lui Osiris et Isis dont les images sont accompagnees de la Idgende
Au-dessous de cette scene, il y a 11 lignes d'hieroglyphcs. En
voici la reproduction :
534
Tune 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
^\^^^^Mm^%. -urn
-<s>-
_s^
7\
6. 5 ^ ^ (]_> & ri^
I> I I I —H — 1 # <=> cLI I —(0— r-^^
Jf[liP^7^l¥feSM
A'^AA/V^ [ ]
^=7 I o"
^
_^s&
AAAA/V\ ^TJ.v^ AAAAAA
.^^"^
(sic)
AAAAAA £1^
J^
n I 0 ^
n I D
Le texte ne presente aucune difficulte pour quiconque veut le
traduire. Toutefois, il y plusieurs fautes ou anomalies, p. ex.
A A ^ A A , au lieu de etc. — La genealogie a ete
535
2 S 2
June 5]
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH.-EOLOGY.
Li5
donnee par M. Lieblein (Z>/V/. de ttoms, No. 1059), qui a commis
plusieurs erreurs dans la reproduction des noms propres.
No. 10. Pyramidion en granit, conserve a Berlin. Des quatre
cotes du monument, seulement deux sont ornes. Nous voyons, dans
Tun et I'autre cas, le defunt agenouille en posture d'adoration dans
rinterieur d'un naos. Les textes accompagnant ces representations
ont ete copies par Madame Piehl, et sont les suivants :
AAAAAA
0
cO]
o ^
50
\1
@ I
0
/;. (pendant du texte qui precede) ^¥i| 1^^ I ^^^ "^^ V ?
^
2Q
P
O ^
y\
n v^ O
L-a
li 0 A«AAA^ \ I
,i|(]]^f^il-1l
Le sieur Ptahmes de notre monument parait avoir eu soin de
consacrer beaucoup de pierres en son nom. Aussi, les collections
egyptiennes d'Europe comme celle de Boulaq, ont-elles garde de
precieux souvenirs de cet ancien grand'pretre de Memphis.*
No. II. PiEDESTAL DE STATUE, conscrve au muscc de Berlin.
Tout autour a ete tracee en une seule ligne une inscription hiero-
glyphique qui, selon la copie de Madame Pichl, a la teneur suivante :
M^ilVk
^
\
^1
AAA/S/SA
mmmm
* Voir Piehl, Inscripiiotis hicroglyphiqucs II, page 68 ; SCHIAPARELLI,
Catalo'^iie du miisee de Florence ; Liehi.ein, Diet, de noms, jS'" 608, 651.
June 5] PROCEEDINGS.
AAA^AA tlL
Si les noms propres saites que contient notre inscription, avaient
etre remplaces par d'autres, ayant un cachet plus ancien, on serait
dispose a croire que nous nous trouvions en presence d'un texte,
datant de I'ancien empire ; a tel point la forme de la priere funeraire
et celle du titre du defunt,* sont-elles d'accord avec ce que nous
connaissons, concernant la periode la plus reculee de la litterature
^gyptienne. Nous savons du reste d'apres le temoignage d'autres
monuments, qu'il y a tres-souvent une grande ressemblance entre les
textes saites et ceux de I'ancien empire. P. ex. pour les titres des
fonctionnaires, pour certaines particularites grammaticales, comme
I'inversion, etc. Les deux epoques presentent de meme une tres-
grande conformite, quant a leur art. Cela est incontestable, et
personne qui a vu des monuments egyptiens de cet ordre, ne peut
discouvenir de I'existence d'une parente. Je ne m'etonnerais point
qu'il arrivat a quelqu'un de nos confreres d'egyptologie de pretendre
que p. ex. le texte saite qui nous occupe a ete copie d'apres un
tombeau de I'ancien empire !
Mais cela n'autorise nullement a employer I'expression " re-
naissance" dans le sens de Lepsius, pour I'epoque saite en son
entier. Nous connaissons des monuments saitiques, provenant p. ex.
de Thebes, qui comme ceuvre d'art et quant au style de leurs
inscriptions se rapprochent infiniment plus des monuments thebains
de la XVIIP et XIX'' dynasties que de ceux de Memphis de
I'ancien empire. Selon nous, il faut toujours tenir compte de
I'influence locale, si Ton veut bien juger I'histoire de I'art egyptien —
tout en reconnaissant que chaque e'cole de merite a eu une pre-
ponderance plus ou moins marquee dans tout le pays. Pour ne
citer qu'un exemple de I'Egypte moderne, la fabrication de vases
* Pour des textes donnant une priere funeraire analogue a celle du monument
qui nous occupe, voir Mariette, Alastabas, pages 203, 433. Pour le titre, voir
ibid., page 138.
537
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [18SS.
et de gargoulettes {goullt') est repandue dans toute la Haute Egypte,
a partir du Caire jusqu'a Assouan. Eh bien ! en visitant les
differents depots qu'il y a entre ces deux stations de limite, on
va voir que chaque endroit, chaque localite, a ses types speciaux
qu'elle affectionne. Le potier de Qene ou du Caire vous offre
surtout des vases minces et elegants, quelquefois d'une finesse in-
comparable, celui d'Edfou par contre n'a que des cruches ou des
plats, tres grossiers. Si vous desirez une de ces grosses jarres
qui, a bord des dahabiyeh, servent de filtres, il faut aller a Ballas,
A Assouan on fabrique ces petits vases qui vous remplacent quelque-
fois les cendriers. Mais si vous tenez a avoir des specimens
vraiment magnifiques de la poterie egyptienne — specimens dignes de
figurer sur la cheminee de votre salon en Europe — alors, ce n'est
que le potier d'Assiout qui puisse vous offrir ce qu'il vous faut.
Maintenant pour avoir des specimens de chaque localite de
fabrication, il n'est pas necessaire de parcourir la Haute Egypte
entiere. A Qene vous pouvez p. ex. trouver les vases de Ballas, h.
Edfou, ceux d'Assouan, au Caire ceux d'Assiout. C'est que le Nil
relie entre elles toutes ces localites qui echangent regulierement leurs
produits. Je ne veux du reste point nier que occasionellement un
potier ne puisse imiter d'autres formes que celles qui font la specialite
de I'endroit ou il demeure, mais cela est exceptionel, a ce qu'on m'a
raconte.
L'apergu que je viens de donner de la distribution des fabriques
de poterie en Egypte moderne, doit peut-etre fournir une bonne
analogic a la distribution des fabriques de monuments qu'il y avait
en Egypte ancienne. Et si I'analogie a quelque raison d'etre, je me
regarderai comme autorise a douter de I'exactitude de I'application a
I'epoque sa'ite du terme " renaissance," comme on le fait sur la foi de
M. Lf.psius. En admettant la possibilite d'exceptions — ^je crois
avoir reduit la question a ses justes proportions.
No. 12. La st^le 7313 de Berlin. En haut il y a une corniche.
Au-dessous de celle-la, une representation qui nous fait voir un
homme, c=i>— a la main et nomme 1 V" (J 0 '^^^^ i^ '^'y^
r^^^ v\ " Le vrai ami de son maitre, chef du depot Mentu-
hofep." Vis-a-vis de I'homme et separee de lui par une table
d'offrandes, une femme est debout, respirant I'odeur d'un lotus
538
June 5]
PROCEEDINGS.
[1888.
epanoui. La femme s'appelle [1 \i
UK
Au-
dessous de cette scene, il y a au milieu une porte, munie d'un
"tambour cylindrique" et ornee par en haut de ^T^ . La reste de
la partie inferieure du monument est occupe par une inscription en
six lignes verticales, 3 a gauche et 3 a droite de la porte. Voici
I'inscription en question :
^■iz^^k^7m\'-
ITT]
® IT]
^ I I
7\
li 41^111
AAAA/NA /\AA/VV\
AA/VV\ n y^
(sic)
.=^1
D ©
(^;<:)
^ Cr£l
I ^ v_-^
lltlllllll
1^
^1 h'q ®
1111
g •> <? Q ^ ^7^ t^^'^'^
AWNAA I v[^ £^ 1 f I A/''^v^AA
000 i ^ ^6 AWVAA S=> Jd iTi D
, M T ^''"' " °
Traduction : L'attache au roi, chef du depot Mentuhotep. II
dit : " je sors de ma ville, j'entre dans mon nome, je suis I'ami des
hommes et le favori des dieux. Je rends content dieu, parce que
j'aime a ce que ma parole soit vraie. Jamais, je n'ai rien fait de mal
a qui que ce soit. Je dis le beau, j'interprete I'aimable, moi, le chef
du depot, Mentuhotep." II dit : " O, vivants sur terre, qui passez
devant cette syringe de I'enfer, dites : un millier de pains, de vases
de biere, de bceufs, d'oies au ka de Mentuhotep."
La stele, qui fourmille de fautes, date de I'ancien empire.
539
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCIL-EOLOGY. [i8b8.
On Cuneiform Despatches from Tushratta, King of Mitanni,
BURRABURIYASH THE SON OF KuRI-GaLZU, AND THE KiNG
OF Alashiya, to Amenophis III, King of Egypt, and on
THE Cuneiform Tablets from Tell el-Amarna.
By E. a. Wallis Budge, M.A.
Towards the end of the summer of 1887 it became known that a
collection of clay tablets inscribed in the cuneiform character had
been discovered in Egypt. Rumour, which always magnifies and
tinges with the marvellous all discoveries made there, asserted that
thousands of tablets had been found ; but hard fact soon showed
that only about three hundred pieces of inscribed clay had been
dug up by the natives. Of these a considerable number were small
fragments, and several of them only formed a complete tablet.
Some of the larger tablets were found in pieces, but I am sorry to
say that many of them were broken by the natives, either that each
man might have a share, or for the purpose of easy carriage on the
persons of those who helped to dig them up and were concerned in
the secret removal of antiquities from one place to another. Every
attempt was made to keep this interesting group of tablets in the
hands of one owner, but it was impossible to do so. One native
stole from the other, and the laws which relate to the finding of
antiquities in Egypt compelled every person connected with the
finding of the tablets to wash his hands of the business as soon as
possible. It was difificult, too, to obtain any exact information about
the tablets or the place in which they were found. About the
middle of December last I had the opportunity of seeing a consider-
able number of the new " find " and was able to examine them. I
made some " notes " on them which I was unable to use on account
of having to proceed to Mesopotamia on a mission for the Trustees
of the British Museum.
In the Academy of Feb. 18, 1888, Prof. Sayce announced that
200 cuneiform tablets had been offered for sale in Cairo, which were
said to have come from Tell el-Amarna. In the Acadc?!iy of
March 24, 1888, Prof. Sayce writes : " M. Bouriant has been kind
enough to let me coi)y one of the cuneiform tablets from Tel
540
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
el-'Amarna which is in his possession The tablet is written
in a neo-Babylonian form of cuneiform script, though some of the
characters are pecuhar ; and it belongs to the period extending from
the age of Assur-bani-pal to that of Darius. It contains despatches
relating to the planting of trees, the laying of foundation-stones and
other matters apparently in the land of Nu .... and the city
Zumurimba, and is addressed by an official to the king, whom he
calls, in Egyptian fashion, 'my Sun-god.'" In the Academy of
April 7, 1888, Prof Sayce again writes: "Thanks to the kindness
of M. Bouriant .... I can now give further details concerning the
Babylonian tablets which, as I mentioned in a previous letter, have
been found in large quantities at or near Tel el-Amarna in Upper
Egypt Most of the tablets contain copies of despatches sent
to the Babylonian king by his officers in Upper Egypt ; and as one
of them speaks of ' the conquest of Amasis ' {kasad Amasi)^ while
another seems to mention the name of Apries, the king in question
must have been Nebuchadnezzar. The conquest of Egypt by Nebu-
chadnezzar, so long doubted, is now therefore become a fact of
history. One of the tablets is addressed to ' the king of Egypt,' the
name of Egypt being written Mitsri, as in the annals of Nebuchad-
nezzar, and not Mutsri, as in the inscriptions of Assyria. In others
the Babylonian monarch is called 'the Sun-god,' like the native
Pharaohs of Egypt. Mention is also made of 'the country of
Nuqu,' or Necho."
The brief examination of the tablets which I had been able to
make in Egypt did not lead me to the conclusion arrived at by my
good friend Prof. Sayce, but as, owing to various circumstances, I
was unable to verify or disprove his statements I said nothing about
the matter publicly. Meanwhile I was enabled to find out a few
facts relating to the number of the tablets found. M. Bouriant pos-
sessed a few (about a dozen), and the Bulak Museum also had a few-
When in Cairo I endeavoured to see those belonging to this insti-
tution, but I was always so unfortunate as to find M. Grebaut, the
Director of the Museum, absent. Six or eight of the smaller tablets
were owned by a friend of mine in Cairo, and a considerable number
had been bought by Daninos Pasha of Alexandria. Mr. Theodore
Graf of Alexandria and Vienna, a man who has done much for
archaeology, acquired and secured for the Royal Museum of Berlin
about 160 pieces, some of them of considerable size. A small col-
lection of 58 pieces, of which about 45 were mere fragments and of
541
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
little importance, was owned by a private person in Egypt, and the
British Museum acquired 81 tablets. Judging by these numbers it
appears that about three hundred pieces of inscribed clay were all
that were sold this year in Egypt.
According to the statements made by the natives these tablets
were found at Tell el-Amarna, a place about mid-way between Mem-
phis and Thebes in Upper Egypt. Tell el-Amarna, the xut-Aten or
%ut-en-A.ten,* C^ U ^^/ww , p^ /vw^ (1 ^^wws , of the hieroglyphs, was
a city founded by king x^t-en-Aten or Amenophis IV, a king of the
XVIIIth Dynasty. With the tablets were also found a clay seal of
this king, and a small alabaster tablet bearing the name of the king,
XUt-en-Aten or Amenophis IV. The facts which came to light on
examining the texts inscribed upon the tablets leave no doubt as to
their belonging to this period of Egyptian history.
Before discussing the palaeography and contents of the Tell el-
Amarna tablets, I give a detailed list of that portion of them which
has been secured by the Trustees of the British Museum, adding
such particulars as it is possible to glean from a brief examination of
them.
1. Letter to the king. Mentions the proper names Bi-i-ya (?)
I ^ t^ E^I? (t^ ^ -^T 40 and Pi-il-ba-at ^f- ^i^H
^y *^^] {Rev. lines 7 and 8). Three lines effaced, bottom
left-hand corner broken. 35 lines, 35 in. x 2^ in.
2. Letter to the king (?) Part of the writing on both sides effaced.
26 lines, 3I in. x 3 in.
3. Letter to the king (?) Top edge broken. Some of the writing
defaced. 36 lines, 4 in. X 2|-in.
4. Letter to the great king from \ >->-y ^y<y "^yy^ >->f- '>^yy.^ >^0i
Da-ga-an-ta on public matters. On the reverse
writing slightly erased. 22 lines, 3I in. x 2| in.
5. Letter (?) Corners damaged and some of the writing illegible.
36 lines, 4 in. x 35 in.
* See Brugsch, Dictionnaire Geop-aphique, p. 82 ; Brugsch, Gcographische
Inschriften, i, p. 221 ; Qualremere, Meiiioires, i, p. 39 ; and Champollien, I' £gypte
sous les Pharaons, ii, pp. 362, 367 and 374. According to a passage in an inscrip-
tion (Prisse, Monuments, pi. xiii) the name Pa-dten her was also given to the city
XUt-en-Aten.
542
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
6. Letter to the king from Su-ba(?)-an-di, f ^f ^J >-'-y it}-
21 lines, 3I in. x 3 in.
7. The inscription of 33 lines is divided into six paragraphs of
5, 5, 4, 10, 7 and 2 lines respectively. It is a letter to the
king on military matters. The top left-hand corner of the
tablet is broken away. 32 hnes, 3! in. x 3 in.
8. Letter to the king " my lord, my gods, my Sun-god," >I^^ *"H^
^yY ^^ ^^ ^yy ^^y i^y ^yy from Mil-ki-li (?) f ^yf
it] "^^I-^ • I" it mention is made of the proper name of
T E^Ty '"'"T l[lK '^j Ya-an-ha-mu. The curious phrase is-tu
mu-hi sarru beli-ya, >S^ "^^I *^ iX. v^^ *"^^ ^T?'
occurs in the inscription. Compare also ana inuhi, y][ ^2^
>^ jij^ which is found on the same tablet.
29 lines, 3^ in. x 2|in.
9. Despatch from a king (?) The two bottom corners are damaged.
47 hnes, 3^ in. x 2 J in.
10. Letter to the king from >->^ iJi""!! ^w ^!<f '"^TT '^T'^^oMo
Rammanu (ad-du) sa-sa-alu- The text is in three
paragraphs. In the second line we have istii an sa-nie for
istu an sa-me. Reverse blank, left-hand bottom corner
damaged. 18 lines, 3I in. x 3 in.
11. Letter on public affairs. The text mentions the countries of
Egypt, and Gi-iz-za-u and the city of Ku-me-di-is. Writing
very clear. Beginning of obv. and end of rev. broken.
25 lines, 3-|-in. X3^in.
12. Letter to the king. A king called Ha-za-ni, \ ^X, yy >yT^^ ■>
is mentioned. Right top and left bottom corners broken.
40 lines, 4g- in. x 3 in.
13. Letter to the king from Alu-sa-bar (?) -ta and the people (?) of
Si-se-ti-si. Line 12 contains a proper name.
43 lines, z\\n. x 2fin.
14. A letter to the king from Pi(?)-it-ya \ ^f- ^^f ^S\- On
the reverse the writing is damaged. 23 lines, 3^ in. x 2|in.
15. A letter to Ya-an-ha-me, f ^f!^ *•>-} ^ !>-, from Mu-ut, D.P.
Rammanu, | >^ ^\ ^*-\ ^'^ff- Though comparatively
small, this tablet is one of great importance, and the writing
543
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888.
is particularly clear and good. In this text Hu-ni-bi-tu, king
of the city of Bi-hi-si, is mentioned, and the following names
of countries and cities : —
t^yy '-'- iii TT The city Hal-hi-a (?)
■^^ ';ryyi^ ^yy<y The country Ga-ri.
S^yy TT ^n iliy The city A-ra-ru.
^yy I- J^yy 4 The city Me-is(?)-tu
S^yy !Hy ^?^^ ^y<y <?— The city Ma-ak-da-sl.
J^yy ^ ^ ff H(?) The city Hi-ni-a-ba.
J^yy S^< <y^yy<y <^y n --y ^M -^y The city Ha-ar-ki-za-ap-ka....
J:^yy li< ih- m The city Ha-pi-ni.
35 lines, 3 in. x 2f in.
16. Letter to the king from Ya-pa-hi, ^y^ ^ ^. In line 13
of the obverse there appears to be a word division mark
'^ similar to that used in Persian cuneiform.
21 lines, 3 in. x 2^ in.
1 7. In this text (obverse) the proper name Arad-a-si occurs ; in the
reverse are the names of several cities. The top and bottom
left-hand corners are damaged, and the writing is not very
clear. 38 lines, 3^ in. x 2| in.
18. A letter to the king from J^y ]^ Us-ip-(Rammanu) ?
Mention is made of the city of Apia, >-::yy ^^y '^]. The
beginning of obverse and end of reverse (about three lines)
is wanting. 36 Hnes, 2§ in. x 2f in.
19. Letter to the king from y t] ^^ <yMy<y ^y<y ^^'
The writing upon this tablet is remarkably clear. The left
bottom corner is broken. On the obverse, line 8, is the
following, ^'i ^y ^^i ^y<y y;^ --y ^z^ ^, vn su vn id
a-an ani-kut. On No. 20, id is given as a variant of su.
15 lines, 3 in. X 2% in.
20. Letter to the king from y ^yy-^ ^yy^ ^^ ^ Zi-ta-at-ba.
On lines 8 and 9 we have the following vyv ^^y ^y"-!^
^V S^y -yy^ *^ ^^^ ix The bottom part
of the tablet is missing and the reverse is blank. Writing very
in.
544
sharp and clear. 10 lines, 2§m. X 2-^
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
21. Fragment of a contract (?) tablet. The four corners are want-
ing. The last two lines of the reverse, which appear to
have contained the date, are broken. The reverse is blank,
save for parts of two lines which have been continued from
the obverse, and the oval impression of what appears to
me to have been a steatite scarabaeus. On the scarabseus
were inscribed the hawk of Horus wearing the crown of
Upper and Lower Egypt / ^\ I ; a winged urseus, sun's disk,
and traces of the letter p, D, are visible.
30 lines, S^in. x 3^ in.
22. Dark clay tablet inscribed with a letter to the king; the writer's
name is unfortunately defaced. On reverse, line 7, the city
of Mu-ha-zi is mentioned. 2>Z hnes, 4f in. x 35 in.
23. Well and clearly written tablet inscribed with a letter to the
king from f ^\\^ ^^f -ff^ «|- ^^U Zi-id-ri-...-ra. On
this tablet the am-ku-ut occurs. Reverse blank.
15 lines, 2|in. x 2|in.
24. Letter to the king relating to soldiers -^][ f<« ; right and left
bottom corners are wanting, and the writing is nearly defaced
on the reverse. 25 lines, 35 in. x 2^ in.
25. Letter to the king from Ta-gi. On reverse, lines 3 and 5, are
wedges \ indicating division of words. Writing beautifully
clear. 25 lines, 2f in. x 2^ in.
26 Letter to the king from Bi-is (?) Mentions J ^>- ^y ^>- J]^
*-\i^ . . . ma-pi-i-ti and the city of Bi-ri. 59 lines, 4 in. x 2g in.
27. Letter to the king from Bur-ya-ha->^>w|-ri-ki (?). On the last
line of obverse the signs ba-gal ^y ^y- occur. They appear
always to end a sentence. The paragraphs begin generally
with the word eniima. The left bottom corner is slightly
injured. 29 lines, 2| in. x 2 in.
28. Letter to the king. Writing on obverse is partly effaced and the
reverse is blank. 7 lines, 3 in. x 2| in.
29. Letter to the king. The preamble ends with ajukut. A man
called Bi-ri-di-pi and a king called Li-di-ni are mentioned.
The forms i-nu-ma and a-nu-ma for e-fiu-ma are found. On
the edge, the city of Ta-mu (?) is mentioned.
22 lines, 2\ in. x 2g^in.
545
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [18S8.
30. Appears to be a letter from a king whose name begins with the
signs hi-is The beginning of the text is unusual.
17 lines, 2^ in. x 2^ in.
31. A letter from Ri-ip-Rammanu (Addu?) to a person (?) not a king
called A-ap-bi Mention is made of the cities Du-la
and Be-ru-na. 30 lines, 2^ in. x 2^ in.
32. Fragment of a letter to the king from Ri-ip Rammanu, and
mentions a man called Bi-a- ha.
21 lines, 2| in. x i| in.
33. Fragment of a letter (?) mentioning a city called Ma-as-be-ki and
a man called Ap-bi-za. 26 lines, 2§ in. X 2 in.
34. Letter to the king, divided into four paragraphs. Dividing
wedges occur. 17 lines, 2| in. x 2| in.
35. Letter to the king from Is(?)-du-bu relating to soldiers and chariots.
An upright wedge is placed before the word sarru.
18 lines, 2\ in. x 2|-in.
36. Letter to the king from Si-ib-ti Rammanu, mentioning Ya-an-
ha-ba. We have here the form ardu-ki, instead of ardu-ka,
just as we have the form anaki for anakii.
21 lines, 2| in. x 2| in.
37. A letter to the king of Egypt from the king of Alashiya, who
styles him "my brother." The text is divided by lines into
13 paragraphs ; the actual letter begins at line 10. From it
we gather that an ambassador from the king of Egypt went
to the land of the writer of the letter, who sent him back in
peace and safety. 55 lines, 5I in. x 3|in.
38. A letter to the king of Egypt from the king of Alashiya. The
left bottom corner of this beautifully written tablet is broken.
The clearness of the writing makes this tablet most interesting
for a study of this peculiar writing. 53 lines, 5^ in. x 3 in.
39. Parts of a letter to the wife of Amenophis IIL king of Egypt,
with a mention of her son Amenophis IV and her father.
There are upon this tablet the remains of three lines of
hieratic. Left bottom-corner broken. 59 lines, 5I in. x 2\ in.
40. Letter to the king from Ri-ip-Rammanu, mentioning the city
of Dula twice. End of obverse broken.
51 lines, 4-^ in. x 3 in.
546
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
41. Letter (?), the text of which is divided into ten paragraphs.
Many proper names occur in this text, and the kings of the
lands of Mu-ha-mu, Ni-i, and Zi-im (?)-za-ar are mentioned.
70 Unes, 4f in. x 35 in.
42. Letter to the king on pubUc affairs, mentioning the city of
Ap-du-la. 48 Hnes, 3I in. x 2|in.
43. Letter from Ri-ip-mu-a-ri-a to the king of Egypt. This tablet
has been broken across the middle. 99 lines, 7 x 4 in.
44. Letter to the king from Ri-ip-Rammanu. 45 lines, 4^ in. x 3 in.
45. Letter to the king from the governor of a city.
26 lines, 45 in. x 3f in.
46. Letter to the king, written in complicated Babylonian. This
is the only tablet in the collection written in this difficult
script. The corners are broken. 35 lines, 5^^ in. x 2| in.
47. Letter to the king of Egypt from Ri-ip-Rammanu mentioning
the cities of Beruna, Dula, &c. Corners broken.
51 lines, 45: in. x 2|in.
48. Letter to the king of Egypt from a king. The writing on the
edges and the reverse is much rubbed. The clay of which
the tablet is made is red in colour, and has several small
pieces of flint in it. 29 lines, 4 in. x 2| in.
49. Letter to the king of Egypt from Arad-Dingirri, »^^y «->!- >-yy<y.
Well and clearly written. 26 lines, 3^ in. x 2|in.
50. Letter to the king from Mil-ki-li, f Jr<yy i^] i^i^I-^- Reverse
blank. 17 lines, 3^ in. x 2| in.
51. Letter to the king from A-bi-sarri, y y][ ^ i^^^- This in-
scription mentions the city of Sur-ri (Tyre), *~^]] ^^ '^yy^^y-
The writing is clear but very minute, and is continued on
the edges of the tablet. 71 lines, 3^ in. x 2^ in.
52. Letter to the king from Su-ma-an-di (?). Coarse writing, much
rubbed. Part of reverse blank. 23 lines, 3I in. x 2| in.
53. Letter to the king. The first few lines at the beginning are
wanting, and the name of the sender is thus lost.
67 lines, 4I in. X 3 in.
547
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1888
54. Letter to the king from Su-pi-ar-da, relating to soldiers. Part of
reverse blank. 16 lines, 3I in. x 3I in.
55. Letter to " Nam-. . . .-ya, the son of the sun-god my lord," from
A-ki-iz-zi ] y][ ^^y '^y '^yi"^- The inscription is divided
into twelve paragraphs. In the fourth of these chariots and
soldiers are discussed. In the fifth, sixth, and tenth the
proper name A-zi-ra J ^ '-]]'^ "t^T occurs. In the ninth
and eleventh paragraphs the land of y ^•^ t:^y "^y Ha-
at-te is mentioned. The bottom part of the tablet is broken.
60 lines, 4I in. X 3 in.
56. Letter to the king from A-bi-sarri, y y| ^ v^^- The king
of the land of ^y<y *:/- _^ »-^y >^, Da-nu-na-ba-be, is
mentioned, and the proper names y izf"^ tyji] ^IT-^ "Hi >^
4^ ^yy<y, E-ta-ga-ma-pa-pi-ri, and y >^yy^ ^^yy ^yy<y H<r-
Zi-im-ri-da, occur on reverse. The writing on part of obverse
is obliterated, and the top right hand corner is broken.
69 lines, 4|-in. x 2-|in.
57. Letter to the king from Ya- .... -ti-ri. The name Ya-an-ha-ba
(or ma) occurs on the reverse, with a mention of the land of
Egypt. Ya-an-ha-ba is entitled ^> *^ S^^, "officer of
the gate." The city of Az-za-ti, ^^ ]] j4-<. Writing large
and coarse. 39 lines, 4f in. x 3 in.
58. Letter to the king. Name of writer wanting. Mentions the
proper name Ya-an-ha-mi, y ^^yy >— y ]^-^ ^^C, with the
variant y ^fy ^^ ^t-t, Ya-ha-mi. Top edge of tablet
rubbed away. Writing clear but straggling.
55 lines, 3|in. X2|in.
59. Letter to the king from y ^>- ^^y ^]} Pi-it-ya. Obverse
divided into three sections, part of reverse blank. The clay
of which the tablet is composed has pieces of flint in it.
Writing clear. 22 lines, 3I in. x 3 in.
60. Letter to the king from y y]^ ^ ^^^ A-bi-sarri. In line 10
of obverse the " city of Tyre, the spoil of the king," "^^yy ^^
>-yy<y -^ V^ C^^ is mentioned, and on reverse the man
"Zi-im-ri of the city Zi-du-na " (Sidon) y *']]-^ -<^'^TT ""IH
%]^ >'t]] -yyi^ J^y -4 is referred to. This tablet and
548
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
Nos. 26, 51 and 56 are of a most peculiar shape, and are
written in a clear but minute hand. They all refer to public
affairs in Phoenicia ; the opening lines are the same, and they
appear to me to be of great importance.
84 lines, 4^ in. x af in.
61. Letter to the king from ^X i^] *>^^M^^- The "officer of
the gate" is mentioned on obverse 1. 12. On reverse 1. 5 is
the name y "^f ^fj ^f Ku-zu-na. Part of the reverse is
blank, and one line has been erased by the scribe.
18 lines, 3 in. X 2| in.
62. Letter to the king from Ap-di-as-ta-ti f t-t] i^] >^ ^^f >-^^.
Large coarse writing ; reverse defaced.
1 1 lines on obv., 3 j in. x 2^ in.
63. Letter to the king. Name of sender wanting. The name of the
land A-mu-ri is mentioned on reverse. Writing small.
49 Hnes, 3 J in. x 2| in.
64. A letter beginning as follows : —
>-x" m t:^-^ BVy ^:iry ^t. etc.
a-na sarrani sa mat Ki-na-a-im
ardani ahi-ya um-ma.
Mention is made of the land of Egypt. 13 lines, 2| in. x i| in.
65. A letter to the king from >^ "^^IaI ^'"- The writing on this
tablet is complex, and parts of many of the signs are indistinct.
Part of reverse blank. 25 lines, ^^ in. x 2| in.
56. A letter to the king from ^]{] ^ ^TT Da-as-ru. After the
preamble of six lines we have this laconic text : —
^iT ^T <xr >^
Reverse is blank. 10 lines, 2^ in. x 2 in,
549 2 T
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1SS8,
67. Letter to the king y ^f-^ »-<y< i^*- Sa-ti-pi. Reverse defaced
and two corners broken.
About 20 lines visible, 2| in. x 2^ in.
68. A letter to the king (?). Nos. 32, 40, 53 and 68 are probably
from the same person and relate to the same business.
42 lines, 3f in. x 2| in.
69. Top half of a tablet. As one half of the text is missing, and
that inscribed upon the obverse of the fragment of the tablet
which we have is nearly erased, it is difficult to discuss the
contents of it. 40 lines, 45 in. x 4^ in.
70. Letter to Amenophis III, king of Egypt, from Tushratta, king of
Mitanni. The inscription of 85 lines is divided into thirteen
paragraphs. The writing is beautifully clear and distinct.
85 lines, 8| in. x 5 in.
71. Letter to the king of Egypt from the inhabitants of the city of
Du-ni-ip-ki, >-tf] J^f ^y^ l^Tj <Ig[ On both sides of the
tablet mention is made of a man called A-zi-ra y y]^ '^yy*^ "^^TT
46 lines, 4^ in. x 3^ in.
72. Letter (?) to the king. The city of Dula is mentioned.
63 lines, 3|in. X3iin.
73. Letter to the king from Ri-ip-Rammanu. The city of Dula is
mentioned. The inscription is divided into four paragraphs.
45 lines, 3f in. X2f in.
74. Letter to the king from La-ap-a(?)-pi. The wTiting is written
between lines. 29 lines, 2| in. X2;^in.
75. Letter to the king from Pi-it-ya. Reverse blank.
19 lines, 33: in. x 2^ in.
76. Letter to the king. The inscription is divided into seven para-
graphs. On reverse the proper name Ha-ti-ip ^^ *-^ J^
occurs twice. 56 lines, 5^ in. X3^ in.
77. Letter to the king from Ri-ip- The writing is very close
and complex. 45 lines, 2^ in. x 2^ in.
78. Letter to Amenoj^his III, king of Egypt, from Tushratta, king
of Mitanni. The text is divided into five paragrajjhs. The
550
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
first paragraph contains salutations. The second paragraph
seems to refer to the going of Istar of Nineveh to Egypt, and
reads thus : —
tt]] ti ->f -vr ti^ -t]] m^^:i!Vr t^^r v ^.^
-IKK?) t:^^<h-^i t] Vr ^4 "-" <tt -^r ^rKT ^
M ^-Ki ?;[ -EE j^ ?- r? -^ ^::riT t] ^ .4 ->f .4
<-K ^r -Vr ^^^r t] ^^r -]]<i ;:±m
um-ma d.p. Istar sa d.p. Ni-i-na-a beHt matati
ri(?)-bi-i-si-na-ma a-na d.p. Mi-is-ri-i
i-na mati sa a-ra-'-a-mu lu-ul-lik lu-sib
lu-uz-za-kan ir-me a-nu-um-ma i-na-an-na
ul-te-e-bil-ma it-tal-ka.
On the reverse are three hues of hieratic writing nearly obliterated.
32 lines, 3^ in. x af in.
79. Letter toAmenophis III from Tushratta (f -^If i:<]] "py]^ >-yy^ ^^y
Tu-is-e-rat-ta) king of Mitanni. The text is divided into eight
paragraphs, and appears to refer to military affairs. Mention
is made of the land of Ha-at-te. 54 lines, 4I in. x 3 in.
80. Letter to the king. The inscription is divided into five para-
graphs. 49 lines, 3f in. x 2| in.
81. Letter to Amenophis IV from Bur-ra-bu-ri-ya-as, king of Karduni-
ya§ (I I? tt]^ ^- -ir<I BVy - ^^ "v" ::^I^r ^^I J^I .^^
^y][ >^). The inscription is divided into Qffe sections.
In the third paragraph Burraburi-yas mentions his father
T I^ ■"TH *B]*' hi Ku-ri-gal-zu. 38 lines, 4iin. x afin.
On the 17th of May last there was printed off at Berlin an
article by Dr. Erman, entitled, Der Thontafelfund von Tell-Amarna,^
which contained observations by Drs. Schrader, Winckler, and
* In the Sitzungsherichte der Koniglich Prciissischen Akademie der IVissen-
schaften zu Berlin, No. XXIII, Philosophisch-historischen Classe, vom 3 Mai,
pp. 583-589. Articles on the tablets by Drs. Winckler and Lehmann appeared
in the Kolnische Zcitung (Morgen-Ausgabe), June 4 ; Haiiihurgischc}- Corres-
po7ide)tt, June 20, and elsewhere.
551 2 T 2
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [18SS.
Lehmann on that portion of the tablets from Tell el-Amarna acquired
by Herr Graf for the Royal Museum at Berlin. This was the first
accurate description of the general character and contents of the tablets
that had up to that time been published.* Dr. Erman pointed out
that these tablets were letters and despatches to Amenophis III and
Amenophis IV, king of Egypt, of the XVIIIth dynasty, from kings and
others living in Mesopotamia and that part of the country called in
later days Syria. One of the Egyptian king's correspondents was no
less a person than BurraburiaS of Babylon, and a second was Dusratta,
king of Mitanni. The remarks by Dr. Schrader which concluded
Dr. Erman's paper are to the point, and are characterised by his
usual breadth of observation and learning.
The tablets from Tell el-Amarna are remarkable for their size,
shape, and style of writing ; the clay of which they are made is very
different from that which is usually met with in tablets bearing
cuneiform inscriptions. Some of them have been baked, but the
greater part have not. In colour they vary from light to dark dust tint,
and from a flesh colour to dark brick-red. A few are of no decided
colour, and a few are light yellow. In most cases the texture of the
clay is very fine, while the coarsest clay has small jDieces of flint
mixed wdth it. As a rule the tablets made of this latter mixture
are the least well preserved. Generally speaking, the tablets are
oblong in shape, only about twelve of them being square. On
twelve others the inscriptions are divided by lines into paragraphs.
In ordinary Babylonian tablets the scribe took great care to fill up
both sides of the tablets ; in the Tell el-Amarna tablets no pains
were taken to do this, and we often find blank spaces on the reverse
of the tablets varying from half an inch to three inches. Many of the
tablets are perfectly flat, almost like tiles, only a few have the
common "pillow" shape, and some half-a-dozen have a shape
which I have never seen before. The writing upon the tablets is
no less remarkable. On Nos i, 2, and 22 it is large and coarse;
on No. 46 it is exactly like that found upon many tablets in the
collections acquired by the British Museum during the last few years.
Nos. 37 and 38 are beautifully written, and every character is perfect.
On Nos. 26, 51, 56 and 60 the writing, though well done, is very
* Articles on the Tell el-Amarna "find" based upon this publication have
since been printed by Prof. Sayce in the Guardian, June 13, and in the Contem-
porary Review for August.
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
small. The best written tablets are Nos. 70-81. If we except the
complicated characters which we meet in such inscriptions as those
of Nebuchadnezzar I and II, we may find every class and variety
of form of cuneiform characters known to us ; and it is clear that
the scribes were both inconsistent and careless in their writing.
The inscriptions were the work of many scribes, and a comparative
list of the forms of their handwritings will be a very interesting and
instructive piece of work to be done later on. Meanwhile the texts
that are printed in the following pages imitate the inscriptions upon
the tablets as closely as possible with type, and I am glad to be able
to state that Mr. Rylands will, as soon as possible, issue lithographic
facsimiles of one or two of these texts. On two of the tablets at
least a wedge occurs, \, which appears to be a division mark be-
tween words, reminding us of the word-division wedge which we
meet with in the Persian cuneiform inscriptions. On two of the
tablets (39 and 78) are dockets in Hieratic, which neither Mr.
Renouf nor myself have yet been able to make out.
A large number of the inscriptions are letters and despatches
from kings and governors of comparatively unknown towns and
lands remote from Egypt, relating to horses and chariots and public
business, etc., addressed to Amenophis III, king of Egypt about
B.C. 1500. Occasionally the writer of the letter begs a personal favour
or a concession of some sort. The opening formula is generally as
follows : —
fT^4 T*
-H^-fr
a - na D.P.
sarru
beli - ya
-T 1N« t^j^
-HF-
„ ^ ^-T>
ilani - ya
D.P.
Samas - ya
it] J:4"^r H
ki - be - ma
"S^y^y )^y y (here comes name of sender),
um - ma D.P.
ardu- ka ip - ri - ka
An upright wedge is generally put before the word " king."
553
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [188S.
«^V --^M ft ^4
sepi - ka a - na
beli - ya ilani - ya
sepi saiTU
D.P. Samas - ya
^r ^r ^ S^T TT
VII su VII ID a-
■ an am - kut
" To the king my lord,
my gods, my ^ini,X
speaks (?)
tlms (here comes name of sender)
thy servant, thy dust,
thy feet, to the feet of the king,
my lord, my gods, my Sun,
seven su, seven id, (No. 19 lines 1-8).
In the larger and more important documents this form is much
shortened.
Some of the most frequent correspondents of Amenophis III were
Abi-sarri of Phoenicia, Tushratta of Mitanni, and Ri-ip-Rammanu,
or Ri-ip-Ad-du. On the Tell el-Amarna tablets Amenophis III
is addressed by his prenomen f Q v) "^^^-^ j Neb-mat-ra, which is
transcribed in cuneiform by
1 y <— ^Jff >^ -yy<y ^y? Mi-im-mu-ri-ya (No. 39, 1- i O-
2 y ^^ff ><JS ^yy<y ^yr Im-mu-riya (No. 70, 1. i).
3 y Of^ HI *^ Ty -TK! ^Ty Ni-ib-mu-a-ri-ya (No. 79, 1. i).
4 y Jf^ A^ ^ -TKI E^Iy Ni-im-mu-ri-ya (No. 78, 1. i).
Form No 3, Nib-mua-riya, corresponds more closely with the
Egyptian Neb-mat-Ra, and forms a conclusive proof, if one were
needed, that although the hieroglyphic O Ra is placed first in the
cartouche, it is to be read last of all. The British Museum possesses
one tablet (No. 39) which is addressed to the wife of Amenophis III;
Ijut the text is wanting in the part where her name should come. In
* The Baljylonian ^>^ = Assyrian ^^>-. The two wedges in front do not
represent the dual.
t For the variant am-ku-ut see No. 18.
X No. 14 has the variant "my sun, my sun, who from heaven" J^tty y»-
sa-mc for ia-me.
554
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [18S8.
it (line 11) mention is made of " Mi-im-mu-ri-ya thy husband,"
y ^j:- ^J^ ^ ^yy<y ^yr >:^ .-^^ ^ ^J|y n.F. Mi-im-mu-H-ya
mu-ti-i-ki) and her son Amenophis IV is mentioned on reverse 1. 18.
The feminine forms of pronouns, verbs, etc., which occur in the text
are most interesting.
Amenophis IV is addressed by a part of his prenomen Q i M '
Nefer-xeperu-Ra, which is transcribed in cuneiform by
y ^4 --T A^ -IKI t^y? Na-ap-khur-ri-ya (No. 39, rev. 18.)
Tj^-IdI-IlI]y-II<!-rf<I^T? Ni-ip-hu-ur-ri-ri-ya (No. Si, .^zm.)
Of the numerous correspondents whom Amenophis III hadj is one
whose letters are of the utmost importance for the study of Egyptian
and Assyrian history : I allude to Ttisratta, the king of Mitani, who
styles himself the "father-in-law" of the Egyptian king. The land
of Mitani we have some notice of in the inscription of Tiglath-
Pileser I, king of Assyria about B.C. 11 20, who states that he slew
four mighty buffaloes in the "desert of the land of Mitani." The
same inscription (W.A.I. I pi. 14, 1. 65) states that Mitani was
situated in front of Hatti, that is to say, somewhere near Carchemish,
or in the district called by the Egyptians rD Ik | Neherna,
that is ^j9QIJ AiiD or Mesopotamia. This district seems to have
been the "happy hunting ground" of the Egyptian monarch, who
found it, as Tiglath-Pileser I found it nearly four hundred years
later, well stocked with game. Amenophis III was a skilled hunter,
and we have an express statement on his memorial scarabaei that
from the first to the tenth year of his reign he slew 102 lions with
his own hand.t It is more than probable that this " mighty hunter "
became acquainted with Tusratta during his lion hunts in Mesopo-
tamia, and that he there saw and loved the lady who afterwards became
his wife. Dr. Brugsch ("Egypt under the Pharaohs," I, p. 440)
suggests this, but that it was the case now seems to be quite certain.
The lady Thi, or Titi, } ^1^] W ^ , the daughter of luau (^ ^ fl "k. ^
and Thuaa ^=^ _p I] ^ ^, came to Amenophis III in Egypt with
317 of her principal ladies in the tenth year of his reign.| It is
* The full form is Nefer-y_eperu-Rd, ud-en-Ra.
t Brit. Mus. Scarabseus, No. 4095.
X Brugsch, Aeg. Zeit., 1880, p. 82.
555
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [18S8.
difficult to explain the dissimilarity of the names of luau and Tusratta
given to her father by the Egyptian and Babylonian documents
respectively : further research may perhaps do this. Tusratta may
have been the name of the chief of the tribe or country to which her
father and mother belonged, and this supposition might account for
the absence of the names of her father and mother from the cuneiform
tablets found at Tell el-Amarna. In any case we know from the
evidence of the Egyptian monuments and the cuneiform tablets that
the wife of Amenophis III was a foreign lady unconnected with the
royal house of Egypt, and the latest evidence on the subject which
we have appears to indicate that she spoke a Semitic language. This
is important, for it explains the presence of Semitic words in Egyptian.
A native of Mesopotamia once established as queen in Egypt, it would
certainly follow that there would be a gradually increasing flow of her
countrymen into that country, and that communication between the
two lands would assume large proportions. The skill of the Semite in
business matters would find full scope in the land of Egypt, and the
fact of his relationship with the royal lady would assure him toleration
and protection. Curiosity in respect of the land which Thi had
adopted would no doubt attract many of her countrymen as visitors,
and we may be certain that any one who saw a chance of bettering
his position in the rich land of Egypt would find his way thither.
The influence of the queen at court was very great, and seeing that
she was so great a favourite of the king, it was only natural that
the words and manner of her speech should be copied by the
scribes attached to the palace ; the presence of Semitic words in
Egyptian compositions like the Tale of the Two Brothers, The
Travels of an Egyptian, &c., is thus fully accounted for. How long
intercourse of a friendly nature went on between the chiefs of Meso-
potamia and the kings of Egypt it is not possible, at present, to say.
Tushratta in his despatch to Amenophis III distinctly says that an
arrangement respecting certain animals had been entered into by his
father and the king of Egypt. It seems to me not improbable that
it continued a hundred years at least. The questions of interest
which arise out of the consideration of this new set of cuneiform
tablets are varied and many ; at present I think it premature for any
one to attempt to answer them. We must first have all the texts
published, and when they have been carefully studied and considered
by the whole Assyriological school, and their results are made
known to Semitic scholars generally, it will be possible to indicate the
556
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
direction and importance of their evidence. In this paper I have
only attempted to give specimens of the texts (with transHteration as
far as I am able), so that students may at once have some opportunity
of judging of their nature and value. Our Society proposes to print
copies of the texts of all the Tell el-Amarna tablets acquired by the
Trustees of the British Museum, and I hope this very wise act will
induce the scholars of Berlin to go and do likewise.
I. — The Despatch of Tushratta, King of MtDXANNi.*
This very interesting document of eighty-five lines is divided into
thirteen paragraphs. The first paragraph is occupied with salutations ;
its general import is as follows : "A tablet for Mimmuriya (for Nim-
muriya, i.e., Neb-mat-Ra) the great king, the king of Egypt, my
brother, my son-in-law who loves me and whom I love, speaks (?)
thus : I, Tushratta the great king, thy father-in-law who loves thee,
the king of Midtanni, thy brother, have peace ; to thee may there
be peace, and to thy house, and to my sister {i.e.., the wife of
Amenophis III) and to the ladies of thy establishment, to thy sons,
to thy chariots, to thy horses, to the general of thy forces, to thy
country, and to thyself may peace be greatly multiplied."
I have translated the word ha-ta-ni by "son-in-law," and would
compare the use of the word here with that of Genesis xix. 14, where
the husbands of Lot's daughters are called V^nrj. It is also possible
that Tushratta may mean that he is a mere connexion by marriage of
Amenophis III : if we are to understand the use of the word jiin
in this light I would compare the use of this word in 2 Kings viii. 27.
In addressing Amenophis III, Tushratta also styles himself e-nii-ka,
" thy father-in-law " : comp. the Heb. □?!, Gen. xxxviii. 1 3. It will
be noticed that Tushratta always calls Amenophis " my brother,"
meaning, of course, my brother or fellow king ; in the same way the
wife of Amenophis is called by Tushratta " my sister." The ^"^ *^y>-
"soldier chief" mentioned in line 7, I am inclined to regard as the
general of the forces of the Egyptian king. Comp. the Syriac
]1 . >.. »13>. In the second paragraph Tushratta states that in days of
old there was an agreement between his father and the king of Egypt
about the pasturing (?) of tt] ^f {»*«- ab-ba-ines ; by this word the
double humped camel which we see represented on the obelisk of
* For the cuneiform text see Plates I, II, III, and IV.
557
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
Shalmaneser II may be meant. He adds that he himself desires to
continue this agreement, and prays that the gods may be favourable
to the arrangement, and that Rimmon and Asunum may make it to
endure for ever.
In the third paragraph Tushratta apparently discloses the actual
business of the despatch. He says that Ma-ni-e his "brother's
grandson " {i.e., his great-nephew) has sent to him asking for the
daughter of the king of Egypt in marriage. Tushratta wishes that
the request of the young man may be granted, but adds with
characteristic Oriental politeness that he hopes the king of Egypt will
do exactly as he pleases. Tushratta also hopes that Amenophis will
allow Manie to come to Egypt, and concludes by praying that Istar
and Asuntlm may direct and rule the heart of Amenophis.
In the fourth paragraph Tushratta indicates that he has sent his
grandson Giliya, the cousin of Manie, to Egypt with this letter, that he
may bring back news to him of the wishes and decision of Ameno-
phis. He says that he desires greatly to know what answer Pharaoh
may accord him, and hints that if it be favourable he and Pharaoh
will be the closest of friends for evermore.
In the fifth paragraph Tushratta refers to the friendly relations
which existed between his father and Amenophis, and hopes that he
will send him an answer confirming and continuing such relations
with him.
In the sixth paragraph Tushratta refers to gold which Amenophis
has asked for from his father. Tushratta says that his father will
send it to him that it may be sent to Amenophis, and he promises
definitely that large gold jars, large gold plates and other articles
made of gold shall be sent to Egypt.
In the seventh paragraph Tushratta states that the large quantities
of gold which Amenophis has asked from his father, have been sent
to Amenophis by the hands of his grandson Giliya.
In the eighth paragraph Tushratta says that he is prepared to act
in the same manner in respect to the money (or property) as his
grandfather did. He adds that he is now about to speak on the
subject of the dowry for the lady with whom Manie wishes to
contract marriage. Whether this indicates that a marriage took
place between a Mesopotamian lady and an Egyptian noble during
the lifetime of the grandfather of Tushratta I am unable to say.
558
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
In the ninth paragraph Tushratta expresses general satisfaction
at the idea of the marriage, and makes stipulations as to the amount
of the dowry (?).
In the tenth paragraph Tushratta states that he sends the gold
asked for by Amenophis on two occasions, but he says that what he
sends in answer to the second application is for a dowry.
In the eleventh paragraph Tushratta says that in the land of his
brother gold is like dust which cannot be counted, and that he will
ask him to send a quantity of it to himself that he may send it on
to Egypt. Tushratta then begs that his mission may be acceptable
to his majesty Amenophis III, and he concludes this paragraph by
asking him to demand from himself whatever he needs. The last
line reads : —
" This country of my brother (is) my country, this house of my
brother (is) his house."
In the twelfth paragraph Tushratta says that he sends his grand-
son Giliya to Amenophis, and he begs the Egyptian king to receive
the youth kindly. He also prays that Giliya may see a good ending
to his mission, and that Rimmon and Asunum may prosper the
business and grant that amicable relations may exist between him
and Amenophis.
In the last paragraph we have an enumeration of the objects of
value which Tushratta sends. They consist of a gold vessel inlaid (?)
with lapis-lazuH, 20 pieces of lapis-lazuli, 19 inlaid gold objects
of finely chased gold, 42 objects made of some kind of precious
stone, 40 gold objects inlaid with the same sort of precious stone,
harness for horses, chariots, carved wooden fittings, and 30 eunuchs.
All these he sends as a message of peace to the king of Egypt.
Such are, I imagine, the general contents of this tablet. The
language is very involved, and the mixture of the third and first
persons throughout the inscription makes it hard to follow the sense.
Briefly stated, it seems that Tushratta's great-nephew Manie wished
to marry the daughter of the king of Egypt. Tushratta forwards a
statement of Manie's wishes to Amenophis by his grandson Giliya,
who was also to carry with him gold vessels and objects inlaid with
precious stones from the father of Tushratta and Tushratta himself.
There appear to me to be Egyptian words and idioms in the despatch
of Tushratta, but it is early yet to discuss such things minutely.
The lengthened forms of some of the words, and the unusual
559
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [18S8.
spelling of many of the different parts of the verbs will require
considerable study to explain. The god Asunum, who is twice
mentioned in the inscription, I am unable to give any account of.
The following is a transliteration of the despatch of Tushratta : —
No. 70. Obverse.
1. duppu sa Im-mu-ri-ya sarru rabu sarru mat Mi-is-ri-i ahi-[ya]
2. ha-ta-ni-ya sa i-ra-'-am-an-ni u sa a-ra-[am-mu]
3. ki-bi-ma um-ma d.p. Tu-us-rat-ta sarru rabu e-mi-[ka]
4. sa i-ra-'-a-mu-u-ka sar mat Mi-i-id-ta-an-ni ahi-ka-ma
5. a-na ya-si sul-mu a-na ka-a-sa lu-u sul-mu a-na biti-ka
6. a-na a-ha-ti-ya u a-na ri-e-hi(?)-ti assati-ka a-na ablani-ka
7. a-na d.p. narcabati-ka a-na d.p. sisi-ka a-na ummani-rab-ka
8. a-na mat-ka H a-na sal-mu-ka dan-is dan-is lu-u-sul-mu
g. a-di ab-ba-ka-ma-su-nu it-ti abba-ya dan-is
10. ir-ta-ta-'-a-mu at-ta ab-bu-na-ma tir-ma itti a-bi-ya
11. ma-a-ti-is da-an-ni-is ta-ar-ta-'-a-am
12. i-na-an-na at-ta ki-i it-ti-ya a-ha-mis ni-ir-ta-na-'-a-mu
13. a-na u-su el a-bi-ya tu-us-te-im-'-id
14. ilani li-mi-es-se-ru-su-nu-ti-ma sa ni-ir-ta-'-a-mu an-ni-ti
15. D.p. Rammanu be-e-li ft d.p. A-su-nu-um a-na da-ra-a-ti ki-i
i-na-[an-na]
16. lu-u li-ni-ib-bi-[lu ?]
1 7. ft d.p. Ma-ni-e tur-tur-ra su ahi-ya ki-i is-pu-ra
18. um-ma lu-u ahi-ya-ma binat-ka a-na assuti-ya sim-me
19. a-na nin-it mat Mi-is-ri-i-im-me ul-ul d.p. Rammanu ri-is-ta-su
20. sa ahi-ya u i-na pa-na-tim-ma ai an-ni-ma-a-[a]ak-ta-bi
21. ft sa ahi-ya i-ri-su uk-te-el-li-im-si a-na d.p. Ma-ni-e
22. ft i-ta-mar-si ki-i i-mur-si ft ut-te-'-iz-[zi] ? dan-is
23. ft i-na sa-la-a-mi i-na mat sa ahi-ya lu-u lu-u-du (?)-si
24. d.p. Istar ft D.p. A-su-nu-um ki-i libbi-su sa ahi-ya li-mi-es-se-el-si
25. D.p. Gi-li-ya xuR-xuR-ya a-ma-te-su sa ahi-ya a-na ya-si it-ta-[ar] ?
26. ki-i es-mu-u ft ta-a-bu dan-is ft ah-da-du ki-i ma-du-ti
27. da-an-is um-ma lu-u a-na-ku-ma an-nu u-su-u su-ur-ru-um-ma
28. sa i-na bi-ri-ni sa it-ti a-ha-mis sa ni-ir-ta-na-'-mu
29. a-nu-um-ma i-na am-mu-ti a-ma-a-ti a-na da-ra-tim-ma lu ni-ir-
ta-'-am
30. a-na ahi-ya ki-i as-pu-ru ft ak-ta-bi um-ma lu-u a-na-ku-ma
31. ft ma-a-du-ti ta-an-ni-is lu ni-ir-ta-na-'-am ft i-na bi-ri-ni
560
Proc. Soc, Bibl. Arch., June, l5
Plate I.
A Despatch from Ti^sratta, King of MtoxANNi,
TO Amenophis III, King of Egypt.
No. 70. — OBVERSE,
.^ , >2r »i^ ^
T-H H^ 5<, ::: r^
1 >->"
Eff=
If
AA *l
AA *i-
^
lil !
u
AA
4
AAI AU ** A £*- A
AAA >— wU. >->- >->- *~ ^
"^ J:J^ N^ i'^i t^ >i ii: >i:
^
AAl
■ iX
5it= ^ Illir I ^
^^ Ui
uuff
AA
^l^^lTATri!
-, A
*^^ ^ 4- JlAA A
^ ^ ^ At SjF
V
^
AAI A ^
AAi U
^ ^^
1"1 tt Sp V
'"'jliiliiJU
* A N,^
w * 1^ ¥ Jii
"^ |AA -^^^ Jl UAA
^^ kk i^ kkik N^
o
a
Proc, Soc. Bill. Aich., June, lSS8.
Plate II.
A Despatch from TiJsratta, King of Midtanni,
TO Amenophis III, King of Egypt.
No. 70. — OBVERSE.
514
kk\ C_ rit E t=r
AX* »^- tj=F aX iTn
A
s4
if*-
i^i
i^
i
A
^.^ A
A
i^l ^ A gi
AU
JUA AA |U
111
S^
AAi ,^ _ ,
UU ^ ^ t v^
> iii t lii 1^
J- V lii iui j^
Sl!--'^
•<?
U-^aaT
H u ^^^ 04.
A At lui t=f
^ * lul
%^
>^^5^aaT
I iUi MA ^ >^
^i
^
fct TT ^ AAA
H^^ 1
ii^^
AA
n
AA
Xi
AA
i
^
tJ^ iu Tir tr A^A
*Ar
AAA
i Yaaaa
>f^>
AAA
t^
AAI
aaA
J^^ A ^
AA
AAA
^ *T w
WW
A
+
M
lUjj
AA
>^T^)! >M^). v>^
i ^ iAu
AAI AA
>^ aaA u_j
^aU i <^^
A ^^^
^^ AAA §
Aip+
AA j^
[AAA
AiU
v->- *~*
aaA AAA
AA .^
>=. r, ^ -
fl
»^ A A
^ AAA
IaAA^^ A
o
Proc, Soc. BibL Arch., June, 1888.
Plate III.
A Despatch from T^ygRATXA, King of MIdtanni,
TO Amenophis III, King of Egypt.
No. 70. — REVERSE.
S IrT ^ 5>: f j(' I^
^
^
>(
lA
|AA
iT ^ TT fu 9^
i
A II II
4f V ff
i"iil
ft
$1^
ff^ili
i^
ki
|AA
I
J- 5^ 5^ j_ te
•^ "^ Ail *^
tE A ^^ V
kUk^m^^ti::
All
AAi
n >j_ Al
. >rr ^ AA
'ni:i>
u
I?
S^^
:^
^-^^^^
" AA A 'IT
AA AU YA A A
UA^ ^
^^ fa A^A >^ ^i^
^ iAl
i"l
A AA WA I
^
AAI
^iii^
AA
AAI AA
aaA n^
AiAJ
m i^ i^^A
A >^
iAu2*- A
* A >->-
4
^
^
lii^^v^i^A
A
AAI
aaA
n^ tth v7 At ffl
A A iUi^lAA
AAI £^.fe-^ A ,^
aaA kTl^ Tk
_ aU a j2r lii-
E^ i "^^^
AA ~S *^- ^ J^
^AAAA>T-lf^
m IfA K ^ "^
nii ^ M lii^
ger=v A ikki
AAA
AAlAAiji
i!!^! a ii^ ^
AA w_ i £2r I
'^ AA <;^
t= AAI
^TT aaA
YaaaK^aaJI-^
A T aaA N^
>— T iSAAA A
Ul /i AT ^_
^
v'
{|
^-^v^iii
AAAA
AAI
aaA
Hi i }|
^ i AAU
N^ AAA n;^ i AAAA
Proc. Soc. Bib I. Arch., June, ll
Plate IV.
A Despatch from TCtsratta, King of Midtanni,
TO Amenophis III, King of Egypt.
No. 70. — REVERSE.
I'/i
>-»- t^ »—
AAA mi
^ All *
^H il 4-
A ff ^
I'l
■^lu
n
*A ^ iM
f/
AAAi
. II
Hi- ^ '^^
oCy AAA "yi
AAA!
^n
AAJ
n}|
s^ MU ^=
AU
A »L AA,
>i- Tr ^
^ A ^
>^^^^^-aii
1*
. AAI
V^ * aaA
^ AAi A
N^
^ >i- g[ iui
AA
N^ AA
>-V' AA
J^M
v^
lu ^:^:J^
aMIs^^
^I?
A^^j[j[|^ X ^
^^^'
AA
AA
f::t^H{uM
^ aT* Sp >:j: B ;:C-^
11 -ill 1^^^^
^ ^ H rni i^ -. i!i
I^li'
4
ft
nr M
AAI
aaA
{l
m ^ 5^ lu ^
1^
A
5i=
^ A
A ^
A AAii
iUi iUi w _ ^^^
H ill it Tr li ^ o,
j!ui ii^ iUi AAA ^ iAii XI
AA
1>
AAI
A ** T
AAli^
aaA , .
AA
AA
N^ Ji ^ ^ ^ s^
i^
V"
ru
AA
AAA
Ia ^
r* AAAl V *7- J^
*^ >^>; <6, Jrjl * "^^
+ |-^ -^ |AAA ^
* AA A _
iAA
lit i> r 4- rr
iU
ig^l
A
V A , A
ill
Si
A i^i >:- ^ U ^
^
>:
o
A^ ^ i^Ai |AAA
5^ m m ^ ^ ^
o
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1SS8.
32. lu-u ta-a-pa-nu u a-na ahi-ya ak-ta-bi um-ma-a ahi-ya
33. el a-bi-ya u-su lu-u u-te-it-te-ra-an-ni
34. t a-na ahi-ya hurasi ma-a at-ta e-te-ri-is um-ma-a el a-bi-ya
35. lu-u se-im-'-it-an-ni-ma ahi-ya lu-u u-se-bil-an-ni
36. ti a-bu-ya hurasi ma-a at-ta tu-ul-te-bi-la-as-su
37. nam-ha-ra hurasi rabute u passuru (?) hurasi rabute tul-te-bil-as-su
38. libittu hurasi ki-ma sa eri ma-zu-u du-ul-te-bil-[an-ni]
39. pa-za-tu D.p. Gi-li-ya a-na ahi-ya as-pu-ru u hurasi
40. e-te-ri-is um-ma lu-u a-na-ku-ma ahi-ya el a-bi-ya
41. lu-u u-te-it-te-ra-an-ni d hurasi ma-a-at-ta
42. sa sip-ra la ib-su li-se-e-bi-la-[an-ni]
Reverse.
43. ahi-ya el a-bi-ya ma-a-ti-ya li-se-bi-la-[an-ni]
44. ti a-ka-an-na a-na ahi-ya ak-la-bi um-ma-a ka-ra-as
45. sa a-ba a-bi-ya e-ip-pu-us um-ma lu-u a-na-ku-ma ki mi-e
46. ki-i-ni a-as-ni u-nu-u-ta e-ip-pu-us-ma-a-ku
47. u a-ka-an-na ab-bu-na ak-ta-bi hurasi sa ahi-ya u-se-bi-lu
48. a-na te-ir-ha-tim-ma li-se-e-bi-il.
49. i-na-an-na ahi-ya hurasi ul-te-bil a-gab-bi-i um-ma-a
50. mi-i-is-ma-a-ku u la la mi-i-is-ma-a-at u a-na sip-ri
51. ip-se-id u sum-ma ab-bu-na a-na sip-ri-im-ma ip-se-id
52. u as-sum an-ni-ti ah-da-du dan-is-ma u mi-nu-um-me-e
53. sa ahi-ya u-se-bi-lu u am-mi-ti dan-is ha-da-a-ku
54. a-nu-um-ma i-na-an-na a-na ahi-ya al-ta-par u ahi-ya
55. el sa a-bi-ya ri-'-mu-u-ta li-se-im-'-it-an-ni a-nu-um-ma
56. hurasi a-na ahi-ya e-te-ri-is u hurasi sa a-na ahi-ya
57. e-ri-su a-na 11 su a-na e-ri-si i-il-la-ak isteni-tum
58. a-na sa ka-ra-as-ki u i-na sa-nu-ut-ti-su a-na te-ir-ha-ti
59. u ahi-ya hurasi ma-'-ti-is dan-is sa a-na sip-ri-su ib-su
60. ahi-ya li-se-bil-an-ni u ahi-ya el sa a-bi-ya hurasu li-se-bi-la
61. u i-na lib-bi mat sa ahi-ya hurasi ki-i e-bi-ri ma-a-ta-at
62. ilani li-me-es-se-ru-su-ma ki-i me-e ki-i sa i-na-an-na i-na mati
63. sa ahi-ya hurasi ma-'-ta-at u u-su el ki-i sa i-na-an-na
64. hurasi li-se-im-'-it u hurasi sa e-ri-su i-na libbi ahi-ya
65. lu-u-la-a im-ma-ra-as u abi-ya lib-bi ahi-ya lu-u-la-a
66. u-sa-am-ra-as u ahi-ya hurasi sa a-na sip-ri la ib-su
67. ma-a-ti-is da-an-ni-is li-se-e-bi-la-an-ni
561
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [18S8.
68. u mi-nu-um-mi-e sa ahi-ya ha-as-hu a-na biti-su li-is-pur-ma
69. li-il-gi (?) u a-na-ku-u ultu pa-an sa ahi-ya i-ri-su lu-ut-ti-tir
70. mat an-ni-tum sa ahi-ya mat-ya u bit an-ni-tum sa ahi-ya bit-su
71. a-nu-um-ma TUR-TUR-ya a-na ahi-ya al-ta-par d.p. Gi-li-ya u ahi-ya
72. lu-u-la-a i-gal-la-a-su ha-ri-ta H-mis(?)-sir(?)-su-ma li-il-H-ik
73. ki me-e sa ahi-ya u ummu(?)-su e-se-im-me ma-a-ti-is dan-is
lu-hi-it-te
74. a-na da-a-ra-tim-ma sa ahi-ya sul-ma-an-su lu-ul-te-im-me
75. u a-ma-a-tum an-na-a-tum sa ni-il-ta-nap-pa-ru d.p. < ^ammanu
, ■ T L Addu
76. u D.p. Asu-nu-um li-mis(?)-sir(?)-su-nu-ti-ma u i-na pa-ti-i-su-nu
77. li-ik-su-du u ki-i sa i-na-an-na a-di-su-nu-ma lu-u-ma-as-hi
78. ki-i me-e i-na-an-na ni-ir-ta-na-'-am u ki-i sa i-na-an-na
79. a-na da-a-ra-ti-im-ma lu-u ni-ir-ta-na-'-am
80. a-nu-um-ma a-na sul-ma-a-ni-su sa ahi-ya d.p. rabu hurasi pisu
lu-u abnu uknu sadi
81. sakar-si d.p. ma-ni~ir(?)-nu kab-bu-ut-tum xx abnu uknu sadi xix
hurasi
82. sa kabal(?)-su abnu uknu sadi hurasi GAR(?)-ra d.p. ma-ni-ir(?)-nu
kab-bu-tum xlii abnu zatu sadi
83. XL hurasi sa zu-uh-zi d.p. Istar sa kabal(?)-su abnu zatu sadi
hurasu GAR(?)-ra
84. X si-mi-it-tum sisi x narkabati isi ka-du sal-mu-su-nu
85. la XXX sAL-us-mes a-na sul-ma-a-ni sa ahi-ya ul-te-bil
II. — Despatch of Burraburiyash, son of Kuri-galzu, King
OF Karaduniyash, to Amenophis IV, King of Egypt.
In this inscription the form of greeting between the two kings is
somewhat shortened. Burraburiyash refers in Hne 19 obv. to his
father Kuri-galzu. If we acce])t this evidence it is impossible for
the Bxirraburiyash of the Tell el-Amarna tablets to be one and the
same person as Burna-buriyas the son of Kara-Indas, which Dr.
Schrader thinks to be perfectly certain. (Uber die Identitat des ....
Konigs Pur-ra-pu-ri-as mit dem Purnapurias der heimischen baby-
lonischen Inschriften, kann kein Zweifel sein.") It is possible
that the Kuri-galzu mentioned on the Tell el-Amarna tablets is
identical with the son of Karaharbi, an account of whom was first
562
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., Jimc, iSSS.
PLATE V.
Despatch from Burraburiyash, the son of Kurigalzu, king of
ELaraduniyash, to Amenophis IV, King of Egypt.
No. 81, Obverse,
-45! ^r r 1? "inr ^- -tti ^n - ^^ "-" ^^i^i m j^t ji^ e^i? -
^^ :<Tj:r H y? ^4 ^yif ri <f- ^i <^y<^ >^
V, .4 :<y^y y? ^y4 ^^y ^y^^^y t^^y h« ;:^y^ :h^ k< ::^y^y "-" ^y^y
^^y-H<:^Mj:^y^\^inH«::^y^y-yaK<::^y^y->fj^^yyiHj^y<^y<^>^
<^]^ ^-B] ^^y ^^- m y? y][ <Hiy ^^^y ^- ^y^y ^^y K'K y? m <^^ ^ii
:^r4^-:ff^y h4t ^- ^-
B <^y^ "^y ^4 H ^^ y} y? ^4 y? ??< <^^ ^yy <5^t^ ^y i^ ^ ©s
<R±y y- -yyi t-u ^^y h j:?f ^^ ^y y? ^4 yif ?]?< <^^ ^y <^y^ i<j ^^ ^- «
E^y^>f^4iMy^y?i?nH.4fa:yy<j^y;f^4.iy<>y-^'^ya^^y?<>y^^y:^E-^y
»y ->f ^ H liryy^ H y; ^^y h -^y ^y^ ^^y j^ ^y^y .ly ::: -^y
<v^] ^^ H <^^ ^ -y <^^ <y- tr<^ ^y4 ^^y :^ ^y^^y ^y :^ e^ -^y
^ <^:: ^ yy H ^4 i^-yy^ -^^y ^ j^ ^^y? -^y
^T ^>f .^ ^r <-y-^ -s^y^ H^y ^y -hf- h y]f ^.^i <y-iiy ^y ^y-
?? ^^y :ff^y mi « H HI -^- j??<y Sryy^ h y? H<y ^y c: -^y
<F-'^y '^^y :^y <^^ 4-yy h ^y^J ?i< - s< t? ^^y B^t -' ^yif
>iy ^^ vji J^ H ii^y4 tr^u ^^ >^^ -yi^ m
^y n -yyii^y- ny y^r ^ ^y]^ m ^^ (?) ^ v, v, m ^i ^^y ^ .^y -t^
2o i?.4>^^->^y4^ytrUJ^^i-yiin4f^^^yHy;fi?^4H->f>?^"-
i^ii:^!^ jr:^ H ^ >^=- H ^y <y^y ^w^y ^^ ^^
mmm ^y^y (?) ^ 4^ ^y-^ <yEy t> n -^- « yn?
fmm >^^ ^^T ^^ ^<^ --^ ^u ^y '7^ ^
j^M H y?
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., /une, li
PLATE VI.
Despatch from Burraburiyash, the son of Kurigalzu, King of
Karaduniyash, to Amenophis IV, King of Egypt.
No. 81. — Reverse.
^^ ^]^^] ^T<^^ ti4 <>> "^i ^ni^ y? 4 EI? ^T«i :ff^r>^T^Tm i}
%^A^ K-K ^i4 4f^ 4-ry "^i ^^^i -:ii ^^^i - ^i^i ^4
I? ^4 igf <^y-^ -JLI -%] HT^T ^ "^y <^K n h.< <^r «r igf -^^ <i- ^
m ^ H4I ^T< ^n ^ii -m ^Vf ^- mv, v,
^ ^^ r, t^ ^i^T <-i^ ^^^ <^^ :et .^^^ ^!<
t^ H ^^ ^^i 4-Hfyy H -Hf- 4^ <r- ^r i? ^r< <c;: 4-rr h
n ^4 ^y <-y^^ H >^^ :iy^y yyy h ^4 >^^y v,
< ?? r ^y^ j^y^E ^^^ m y-^« ^y4 \7 '^y a f «« -y y-«<
<5.y.- ^r ^ -^y -y^y^ m
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
published by Winckler.* In this case we should have the name of
a Babylonian king which does not occur on the Babylonian lists.
The Kuri-galzu of the new tablets must be older than he of the
Synchronous History ; the new material at our disposal enables us
to ask the questions again, Who built Dur-Kurigalzu ? Who caused
the inscriptions published in W.A.I., I. pi. 4, No. xiv, to be written?
and from whence come the two seal-cylinders published by Menant
in his Glyptique Orientale, p. 193? It is also certain that the state-
ments made by the Synchronous History and the new tablets do not
agree in respect of the genealogy of Burna(Burra)-buriyash.
In the despatch the text of which is printed on Plates V and VI,
Burraburiyash refers to a treaty which was begun in the days of
Kuri-galzu his father and Amenophis III of Egypt ; it appears,
however, not to have been completed. Burraburiyash acknowledges
the receipt of two manas of gold which had been sent to him by
Amenophis IV, but adds that two more are absolutely necessary for
him as he wishes to ornament the house of his god and his own
palace. In return he begs that Amenophis IV will ask him for
anything that he wants which can be found in Babylonia, and
promises that it shall be sent to him. On the reverse of the tablet
he mentions that the Assyrians have offered to become allies of his.
In the last three lines Burraburiyash says that he has sent three
manas of lapis-lazuli, ten sets of harness for horses of five chariots,
and various woods. The following is a transliteration of the text : —
No. 81. — Obverse.
1. a-na Ni-ib-hu-ur-ri-ri-ya sarru mat [Mi-is-ri]
2. ki — bi — ma-[a]
3. um-ma d.p. Bur-ra-bu-ri-ya-as sarru mat Ka-ra-du-ni-ya-as
4. ahi-ka-ma a-na ya-a-si su-ul-mu
5. a-na ka-a-sa biti-ka assati-ka ablani-ka mati-ka
6. rubuti-ka sisi-ka narcabati-ka da-an-ni-is lu-su-ul-mu
7. ul-tu ab-bu-u-a-a ta ab-bu-ka it-ti a-ha-mi-is
8. da-bu-ta id-bu-bu
9. su-ul-ma-na ba-na-a a-na a-ha-mis ul-te-bi-i-lu
10. u sip-ri el (?)-ta-ba-ni-ta a-na a-ha-mi-is ul-ik-bu-u
11. i-na-an-na a-hu-u-a-a 11 ma-na hurasi a-na su-ul-ma-ni-ya
ul-te-bi-i-la
* Bezold, Zeitschrift, 1887, pp. 308 ff.
563
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [iJ
12. i-na-an-na-ma hurasu ma-a-at ma-la sa ab-bi-ka su-bi-la
13. u sum-ma mi-i-is mi-si-el sa ab-bi-ka su-bi-la
14. am-mi-ni 11 ma-na hurasi tu-se-bi-e-la
15. i-na-an-na du-ul-li i-na biti-ilu ma-a-at ^ ekal
16. za-ap-ta lu-u-ma ib-bu-us hurasi ma-a-da Su-bi-la
17. u at-ta mi-im-ma sa ha-as-ha-a-ta i-na mati-ya
18. su-up-ra-am-ma li-el-ku-ni-ik-ku
19. i-na Ku-ri-gal-zu a-bi-ya ku-na-ha-a-a u-ga-ab-bi-su-nu
20. a-na mu-uh-hi-su el-ta-ap-ru-ni um-ma-a a-na ka-an-ni-sat
21. [ik-su](?)-da-am-ma i-ni-ba-al-ki-ta-am-ma
22 ka (?)-i-ni §a-ki-in a-bu-u-a-a
23. i (?)-ni-ta-el-ta-ap-ra-su-nu-ti
24. um-ma-a
Reverse.
1. mu-us-se-ir it-ti-ya a-na na-as-ku-u-ni
2. sum ma it-ti sarru sa Mi-is-ri-i a-hi-ya ta-at-ta-ak-ra-ma
3. it-ti sa-ni-im-ma ta-at-ta-as-ka-na
4. a-na-ku ul-al-la-ka-am-ma ul a-ha-ba-at-ku(?)-nu-si-i
5. ki-i it-ti-ya na-as-ku-nu a-bu-u-a-a
6. as-sum a-bi-ka ul-is-mi-su-nu-ti
7. i-na-an-na As-sur-ra-a-a u-da-gi-il pa-ni-ya
8. a-na-ku ul as-pu-ra-ak-ku ki-i sul-mi-su-nu
9. a-na mati-ka am-mi-ni el-li-ku-u-ni
10. sum-ma ta-ra-ah-ma-an-ni si-ma-a-ti mi-im-ma
11. la ib-bu-u-su ri-ku-ti-su-nu ku-us-si-dasu-nu-ti
12. a-na su-ul-ma-ni-ka in ma-na abnu uknu sadi
13. X simittum (=za-lal) sa sisi sa v nartakati isi
14. ul-te-bi-la-ak-ku
The small inscription printed on Plate VII is a letter from an
officer to "the king my lord." I am not able to say whether
Amenophis III or Amenophis IV is referred to. The whole of the
obverse of the tablet is taken up with greetings, and the object of
the letter does not appear until we come to the reverse. From this
it appears that the officer informs the king tliat he and his soldiers
and chariots are ready to join those of the king at a certain place.
564
Proc. Soc. Bibl, Arch., June, i88!^.
PLATE VII.
Letter from an Officer relating to Soldiers
AND Chariots.
No. 35. OBVERSE.
edge
4f «^
T
-HF- «I
>ff
4 5^
^^T
"^n^ys
=11^1 j^^i
^u
'^ii^r
n
.4
.4
<T-
-TKT
reverse.
«;[ r^ cc '^yy^ ^y
<H£i '^y 0 y«« t^T?
y? .4 :JN :^ «? y^
T? 4^:1 I]f m ^T -^T ]^
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
The following is a transliteration of the text, in which there are (to
me, at least) some difficult passages ; I am not by any means certain
that my transliteration is in all points correct.
No. 35. — Obverse.
1. a-na sarru beli-ya
2. ki-bi-ma
3. um-ma amelu Is(?)- s ^ > -bu
4. ardu-ka a-na sepi
5. sarru be-li-ya
6. D.p. Samas li-mi-ma
7. VII sanitu a-na pa-ni
8. VII ta-ni am-kut
9. at-ta sa-ap-ra-ta
10. a-na-na(?)-ar
Reverse.
11. a-na pa-ni
12. sabani iv ta(?)-te
13. u a-nu-ma
14. a-na-ku du sabani-ya
15. u narcabati-ya
16. a-na pa-ni sabani
17. sa sarru beli-ya
18. a-di a-sar te-la-ku
III. — Despatch of the King of Alashiya to the
King of Egypt.*
The corner of the tablet upon which the name of the king of
Alashiya was inscribed is, most unfortunately, broken off, and I am
unable to restore it.f The king of Egypt to whom it was sent was
probably Amenophis III. The king of Alashiya was an important
personage, and was either an ally of the king of Egypt, or one of
the parties to a business-contract with him. The text of his despatch
* For the text see Plates VIII and IX.
t A second despatch from the king of Alashiya is in the British Museum, but
there are breaks in the first line or two, and we are therefore prevented from
discovering his name.
565 2 U
Ju\E 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [1888.
is divided into thirteen paragraphs. His greeting reads : — " [To]
the king of Egypt, my brother [from] the king
of Alashiya, thy brother. I, and my houses, my wives, my sons,
my nobles, my horses, and my chariots have peace. May peace be
multiphed in my countries ! To thee, brother, to thy houses, to thy
wives, to thy sons, to thy nobles, to thy horses, and to thy chariots
may there be peace ! May peace also be multiplied in thy
countries !" The king of Alashiya next says that he is sending his
own ambassador with that of the Egyptian king into the land of
Egypt. These are the contents of the first two paragraphs.
In the third paragraph the king of Alashiya says that he is
sending, with kindly greetings to his brother king, five vessels of
bronze, the like of which are not made in the land of Egypt.
He mentions too that the hand of the god Barbar (Ninip) had
slain the people of his land ; and in the next paragraph he asks that
the ambassador of the Egyptian king may be sent back speedily
with his own, and promises that whatever bronze objects he requires
shall be sent to him. The hand of the god Barbar may be a
reference to a plague or epidemic.
In the fifth paragraph the king of Alashiya requests the king of
Egypt to send to him immediately ten tables (?), and one table for
the gods. In return he promises to send whatever the king of
Egypt may require of him.
In the sixth paragraph the king of Alashiya says that his ambas-
sador shall give to the king of Egypt the bull which he asked for,
and good fat (?). In return he asks that two kukupii jars may be
sent to him, together with a man who understands eagles.
In the seventh paragraph he says that the people of his land
have spoken to him, and that the trees of his country which the
king of Egypt wishes for shall be brought to him by his ambassador.
The end of the last line of this paragraph is broken away, but
from the word " price " which remains, it would appear that, when
complete, the line contained some reference as to the payment of
the price of the trees.
In the eighth paragraph there are one or two breaks, but the
general sense seems to be that a native of Alashiya went to Egypt
with certain property and died there. He left his wife and family in
Alashiya, and the king of this land asks the Egyptian king to send
back whatever property the deceased left behind by the hands of the
Alashiyan ambassador.
566
Proc. Soc. Bihl. Arch., Ttine, i8
PLATE VIII.
Despatch from the King of Alasiya to the King of Egypt.
No. 37. — Obverse.
iVy ^4] <^^] BVr <{-^^ >^ •^TiiT r- ^Vr t^-^r ^y? ^s^y ^y? [^yj
[^] 11-11- y«« ^i? ^]B\^ -Bt]] y^ ^r^'^y a y— ^y? <H±y ^^4 li
im t^ \^ y^ ^y^ '^yy? -^y -m « <?^?]^^ >^ <?-H y? .4 <^M ^\h^ BVr
^ysl[=<?>]?l^>^y][^4^!yyyy<<<<:-^Ht^'^yy^::^?=yE^y^^y^y^ly►ly►:5H
^<r^ \^ tt]] y«« ^H '^y 0 y«« t^}^] <jhiB B ^4 -^yiy ^ "-^ "-" y^ t^v\
"^m '^y "^y '^y^ <^-^^ >^ 114 yif y-'^y ^ ^^^ lay ^y? ^^y -k
^t^M ^^y y]f ^4 <^^y ^i^y ^i<y '^yy^ 4- e^ ^4 "-^ <^^ ^^y -yy;
^5
^]} ^ -^y y? .4 <^^y ci^^y ?;fy ^ ^^y -:<y <^y^ ^y xx^\-Bm
V, ^4 ^y <5^y<- 'By ^ ly^ ^yy^^ E^y? <^y^^ ^y - ^\ -b n
y? 4 <ig[ ^ «y -^^ j^ -31 E^ >-4 ^^yyy ^ j^M -ly y; E^ iy4 <igf t j^
^^ ^y E? .4 "-" m\ B -i^ ->f HF- >f -n ^<y E^y? r<i<y h
^ y^ ly^ "x^ E^y? ^^ i^y ^^ <f-'^y '^y? :^ ^yy '^^y E^y?
<Hiy ^yy-^ E^yif e^ ^4 ^yiy :^ ^ty ^^y yi^ -^y^ <Igf ^^
5
E^ niy
yy-^ E^y?
^^y s^y ^<
<HEy y? ^4
^ E^iHy
^:yyyy y- ^^y
i^ <^Y ^y
E^y? <y-
ly^^y
"^^ -Ey
yy<y a
-yyii^
j^yy
yy^y
y{ 4 ^Ey '^yy^ \\ ^4 E^y]f <?- < ^:s^y 'By y? t:iy ^.yyi '^y
i^Y ^y :^ -Ey ->f j^ ^yy<^ E^y? ^:s^y ->f y«« e^ <t< ->f j^
y? .4 yiy <vm y? ^4 <j^h iy4 ^yy-^ E^yi <^^ y- ^^nyyyy y- ^y?
•iyy ^y ^yy<y j::<yy ^y ^yy<- E^y][ <^-h y;^ .4 Iiy <-y-^ ^y x^ -Ey -B yiy
25
ly^ j^ 4 y? 4 '^y^^ iy4 ^y -yy<y j::^yy .^y ^ e4= i^ m\
<H±y E^ <r- -HF- j^ ^yy^^ E^y? <f-H jf- w iy4 ^^^yyy-^ ^yy^^ E^y?
yy ^v,^ yiy yiy ^- ^y ^ ^ -hf- j^ ^yy<^ E^y?
<?-H y ^ y^ iy4 e^ ^<y s^y -yi y^ j?^y ^ E^yy -hf- ^
Ey4 j^ 4 ^yy-^ ^y? ^ y^ iy4 "-" E^y? s^y -i< [EEy? '^y]
^ :^= ^- ^- -y y^ E^y? iy4 j^^ ^ <^^ -y royjii^
;r<:^yy m ^ <v^\ ^yy-^ E^y^ ^b y^ <y-SMi^^
t
Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch.^ June, l885
PLATE IX.
Despatch from the King of Alasiya to the King of Egypt.
No. 37. — Reverse.
<hlB B ^4 .11 -K ^ ^^ IHI BV, E^ <h >lf ^TK E^rif 1^
^ ^:^ IHJ ^]^r yyy >^ 1^ ^ ^. 1^4 - ^yr
^y4 j^ 4 ^IK E^T? .I^s^r -IKI ^114 -B Igf
15 cyyy^ ^ t:^ ^] Vi tt] -^m "^T ^IT-^ E^IT
<H±r <^^ -7^ j:jwI t- ^rr y? et ^r r-- i^r ^r ^rr^ e^t?
HI ^- ^r <?-'^r ^ET 'HTTij <t^ "7^ ^^r r- ^ri r? "et ^r r««
<-- ^ 5.:^y y^ ^y? ^y <^y^^ ^] ^ %]^ m ^ ^ H
^yyyi. ^y ^ iin
25
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
In the ninth paragraph it is stated that the ambassador of the
Egyptian king had Uved in the land of Alashiya for three years,
and a reference is again made to the " hand of Barbar which exists
in my land."
In the tenth paragraph the king of Alashiya begs the king of
Egypt to send and arrange matters amicably by means of the two
ambassadors.
In the eleventh paragraph the king of Alashiya entreats the
Egyptian king to send the passuru which he has asked for at once,
as well as the property of the deceased man mentioned above.
He adds he will agree to whatever conditions or orders the Egyptian
king wishes to make.
In the twelfth paragraph the king of Alashiya asks the king
of Egypt not to make any compact, treaty, or agreement with the
king of Hatte and the king of Shanhar. In the last paragraph
the king of Alashiya seems to wish that the ambassador of the
Egyptian king may have full power to treat with him, and that
his ambassador may have full power to treat with the Egyptian
king.
Thus ends this remarkable document. The light it throws upon
the foreign policy of the king of Egypt is certainly interesting,
and from the incidental allusions which are made here and there
many conclusions may be drawn. This can be done later on
when the texts have been studied and are better known. The
following is a transliteration of the Babylonian text of the despatch
from the king of Alashiya.
No. 37. — Obverse.
I. [a-na] sarri mat Mi-is-ri ahi-ya u (?)
2 sarri mat A-la-si-ya ahi-ka-ma
3. [a-na] eli-ya sul-mu bitati-ya assati-ya ablani-ya-[ma]
4. [amelu] rubuti-ya sisi-ya narcabati-ya \x. i-na
5. lib-bi matati-ya dan-is lu-u-sul-mu u a-na eli ahi-ya
6. lu-u sul-mu a-na bitati-ka assati-ka ablani-ka amelu rubuti-ka
7. sisi-ka narcabati-ka u i-na libbi matati-ka
8. dan-is lu-u-sul-mu a-hi (?) a-nu-ma amelu mar sipri-ya it-ti
9. amelu mar sipri-ka a-na eli-ka al-ta-par i-na mat Mi-is-ri
10. e-nu-ma a-na eli-ka V -at erii ul-te-bi-la-ak-ku
1 1 . a-na su-ul-ma-ni sa ahi-ya ul-te-bi-la-ak-ku
567
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [iSSS.
1 2. a-hi ki-i at-gir-(?)-ir eru i-na lib-bi-ka la-a i-sa-ki-in
13. sum-ma i-na mat-ya kat-ti d.p, Barbar be-li-ya kab-ba
14. ameluti sa mat-ya i-du-uk u e-pi-is eri-ya
15. u ahi-ya i-na lib-bi-ka la-a sa ki-in
16. D.p. mar sipri-ka it-ti d.p. mar sipri-ya ar-hi-is
17. us-se-ir u mi-nu-um-me eru sa te-ri-is-su
18. ahi-ya u a-na-ku ul-te-bi-la-ak-ku
1 9. a-hi at-ta a-na ya-si x passuru (?) ma-a ad-dan-is
20. ul-te-bi-la-an-ni ahi-ya passuru (?) ilani i-din-an-ni
21. a-na-ku u a-na eli sa ahi-ya mi-nu-um-me-e
22. sa te-ri-is-su ahi-ya u a-na-ku ul-te-bi-la-ak-ku
23. sa-ni-tu a-hi alpu sa te-ri-is-su d.p. mar sipri-ya
24. u i-din-an-ni ahi-ya u ni-mes sa tabu ahi-ya
25. II karpat ku-ku-pu us-se-ir-an-ni ahi-ya
26. u Y ameluti sa i-li id-hu-mes us-se-ra-an-ni
27. sa-ni-tu ahi-ya ameluti sa mat-ya it-ti [ya-ma] ? . .
28. i-dab-bu-bu isi-ya sa sar mat Mi-[is-ri]
29. il-ku-ni u ahi-ya . . simi u
Reverse.
1. sa-ni-tu itti-ya amelu sa mat
2. i-na mat Mi-is-ri mi-idu u-nu-tum
3. i-na mati-ka u apli-su assati-su it-ti-ya
4. u ahi-ya u-nu-tum ameluti A-la-si-ya pa ... .
5. u i-na kat-ti d.p. mar-sipri-ya i-din-su ahi-ya ....
6. a-hi i-na lib-bi-ka la-a sa-ki-in ki-i
7. D.p. mar sipri-ka iii sanati ina pu-hur (?) mati-ya
8. as-sum kat-ti d.p. Barbar i-ba-as-si i-na mati-ya
9. u i-na biti-ya assati-ya ablu i-ba-as-si
10. sa a-mi-id i-na-an-na ahi-ya
11. D.p. mar sipri-ka it-ti d.p. mar sipri-ya na-as-ri-is
12. ar-hi-is us-se-ir u su-ul-ma-na
13. sa ahi-ya ul-te-bi-la-ak-ku
14. sa-ni-tu ahi-ya passuru (?) sa e-ri-sa-ak-ku
15. u-se-bi-la-ma ad-dan-is ahi-ya
16. fi u-nu-tum sa e-ri-sa-ak-ku ahi-ya us-te-bil (?)
1 7. u mi-nu-um-me-e a-ma-te kab-ba ahi-ya
568
JUNE 5]
TROCEEDINGS.
[18S8.
18. ib-bu-u§ u at-ta mi-nu-um-me-e a-ma-te
19. sa ta-kab-bi a-na ya-si u a-na-ku ib-bu-us
20. it-ti sar Ha-at-te u it-ti sar Sa-an-ha-ar
21. it-ti su-nu la-ta-sa-ki-in a-na-ku
22. mi-nu-um-me-e su-ul-ma-nu sa u-se-bi-lu
23. a-na ya-si u a-na-ku 11 sanitu a-na eli-ka
24. u-te-ir-ru
25. [d.p.] mar sipri-ka il-lik it-ti-ya su-mi-is
26. [u D.p] mar sipri-ya il-lik it-ti-ka su-mi-is
569
JrxE 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. [1888.
Egyptian Engraved Ivory in the British Museum.
[No. 18175].
I am indebted to our President Mr. Renouf for his kind per-
mission to make a facsimile of the interesting ivory in the annexed
plate. It was obtained by the British Museum some months ago,
and is said to have come from Thebes. There was also a wooden
one offered to the Museum, the vignettes, etc., being drawn upon
a prepared surface with ink ; on comparing the two with Mr.
Renouf they proved to be almost identical in the arrangement of
figures, with only slight differences in the manner of drawing.
Fragments of other similar objects are preserved in the British
Museum, but, I believe, up to the present time no satisfactory
explanation has been offered as to what they were originally in-
tended for. It has been supposed that they were worn round
the neck, on the breast, as a kind of collar, but the absence of
any evidence of a means of attaching presents a difficulty. If
fastened only by cords it seems probable that some mark would
remain on the edges where they were tied. A slight and probably
natural bending in this blade of ivory or bone renders one side
a little convex and the other necessarily concave. The upper
figure on the plate represents the vignettes on the inside or concave
side, the lower one being those on the outside or that which is
convex.
The only evidence of wear and rubbing is on the outside of the
curve of the concave side, and the inside of the curve of the convex
side. The part rubbed away being greater on the inner edge, this
may point to a use which required the ivory to be grasped in the
hand, the edge of the hollow, or concave side, being the one which
constantly rubbed against something.
The break across the centre is probably modern, having been
made with the object of more easily carrying the ivory about or
secreting it when carried away from the place where it was dis-
covered.
The plate is about one half the size of the original.
W, Harry Rylands.
570
June 5] TROCEEDINGS. [1888.
NOTE ON THE VALUES OF THE SIGN ^.
By p. le Page Renouf.
Dr. Karl Piehl is an excellent Egyptologist and one of the
most valued contributors to our Proceedings. I would therefore
gladly learn from him the grounds upon which he transcribes
"^^ ® ur-tep.
In so doing he is unquestionably in agreement with almost
every other Egyptologist. My own views on the subject are in
so decided a minority, that I am sometimes tempted to imagine
that I have overlooked some evidence which is so obvious to all,
that no one has thought it necessary to mention it. If there be
such evidence I should like to know it, and will certainly rejoice
in being able in this matter to find myself in agreement with the
unanimous opinion of my fellow labourers. I cannot, however,
on the other hand, avoid feeling that the evidence which has
hitherto been published in favour of the commonly received tran-
scription is singularly unsatisfactory and breaks down upon ex-
amination. Dr. von Bergmann, for instance, in the article {Reciieil,
VI, p. 165) cited by Dr. Piehl, quotes from Sharpe {Egyptian In-
scriptions, I, 23) the title TO f . There is no such title either in
Sharpe or on the original, which is in the British Museum. The
c^ given by Bergmann is a mistake for the top of the sign \.
The common opinion of Egyptologists seems to be that there
is but one phonetic value for the sign ^ and that this is □, tep.
Dr. Diimichen and I hold that the sign is polyphonous, and has
at least three values. I feel certain that □, far from being the
sole value, is only a corruption.
I. One of the phonetic values of ^ is "^^j tep.
The variants ^^^ ^^ ■=: , tep ba, are generally known from
the Royal tombs.* But as a ram's head might have a special
name, a better authority will be found in a variant of Todt., 125,
33. In one of our papyri (B.M. 9971) I have found the usual
* Champollion, Notices, II, 568.
571 2 X
TuNK 5l SOCIKTV OF i;il!LICAL ARCII.1-:C)L0GV. [iS8S.
1-=^ ^ written ^-^^ ^, sor tep. Tep, therefore, with an
initial czs::^, t (which some Egyptologists mistakenly call d), is
the right phonetic value of ^, when this sign represents a Jicad.
Thus, A\ ^ ^ ^9 — -) qa-kii-a Jier hpu-ten, "I am raised
above your heads," Todt, 97, 2.
cx=>s^ 8 Vl '^^(^•^c^:^, iiir/iu her tep-ek, Duemichen,
jRecuei/, III, 36, " the garlands upon thy head."
^^ "^^ — H — '^^, (ep en se-s Hern {ib., 61), "the head
of her son Horus."
^ ^ ?Q5 M §> ^ y ^^ jj^^.j^^ ^^ j^-^ ^-^ ;^^,^ ^^^
en sema {ib., 82), " Horus, son of Ra, standing
upon the head of Sut."
iuX ^ ^ V ■', Afehenit her tep en nutaru nebu
{ib., 52), "the Ur^us on the head of all the gods."
In the last days of hieroglyphic writing the distinction between
<— ^^^3 and ^ ceased to be respected. Each of these signs was
corruptly used instead of the other. It is at this time, and in
a text of specially outrageous orthography, that we find it written
net'em en lies her tep en niitar neb e/n ren-cs en Alenhit, " the goddess
sits on the head of each god in her name of Urceus diadem." *
Here indeed the word is written p ^ tep, but this is a mere
corruption from ^^^^^ i®, and not to be selected as the right reading
in preference to those of the classical period.
2. Another and not less certain value of ^ is evident when the
word usually written ^ ) or ^ \, and signifying 'rule,' 'pre-
* Brugsch, Rcaici/, I, 72. Cf. Dcnkm., I\", 87, a. § P ^, Hcsct, is one of
the names of Ilathor. The sign li is not to l)e confouiukd with tliat signifying
'majesty.' It is an al)ridge(l form of S, as in the valiants '-"f S^^V X A ' v)
quoted l)y Dihiiichen, Zci/s., 1S65, p. 2.
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
scription,' presents itself under the form Sf <7/ r^/,* the well-
known value of 8 being ap. The Coptic ^.Tie, 'caput,'
' vertex,' ' summitas,' is related to the old Egyptian word dp.
3. Abundant and conclusive evidence identifies the sign @ with
the value hetep, whenever it can be shown to have for variants the
signs |, ■;;;, () or \
Thus ^"^^^^ "^ 1 Jf" = =^M hotepu ta, 'those
upon earth.'
In the last variant ^-^i— occurs as a double orthography.
In the same style of orthography (and in the same temple, at
Dendera, the verb hotep is expressed by the sign of the divine jackal
at rest, followed either by ^-^^ , ^ , ^ , if or CH=o .
The forms I ft '^ e/n hotep and ^ are also known. It has
I A U • _ _ ® D
been argued that in the various instances '^ stand only for the
usual complementary letters □ . Those who use this argument should
not forget that r— Q— . might in this way be proved to be = tep. The
entire evidence taken together has to be looked at, otherwise we fall
into a fallacy well known to logicians. The question is which of
the solutions is it which is equally good for every instance ?
Dr. Diimichen t has shown the identity of ^ ^ '^ and ¥
\> \> \> [ill
and this is generally admitted. But the actual value which is
common to the two signs is shown by a passage once written
<:n> y w^ ^ V ^^ \\ I ' ^ ^ ) ^'"'d i'"^ another place
00.
I cannot see how any other conclusion can be arrived at, than
that s?^ is = ,— ^L-^ hotep, and that each of the two signs has this
value, and not that of tep.
* Diimicliun, Kec, 11, 91, I. t Zulsclir., 1873, p. iig.
573
JuxE 5] SOCIETV OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGY. [iSSS.
With this knowledge we can appreciate the ahiteration of another
text quoted by Dr. Diimichen
Hapu Jiai her Jiefp hetepii
' The Nile rising covers the flats.'
The sign f ) in this passage is read hefep as in the following,
W. r^*!^^^^^ A J ^ ^-^ Hdpu her hefep bu nehu* 'Nile
covers every place.'
In the later texts it is used as homophonous with ^, to express
the number 7, ''',', which in its turn is frequently used to express
the preposition ^. Its phonetic value, which must necessarily be
that of a syllable ending in the letter /, is therefore hetep, and not
hept as several scholars have thought. I have myself expressed the
opinion that the Egyptians of the later days borrowed the Greek
67rT«'. But the use of the sign ^ as expressive of 7 is as old at least
as the time of Rameses III. And though we have no direct phonetic
variants of that period, we have philological evidence of another kind.
The notion of harmony, concord, agreement, exact proportion, art,
is from the earliest times as truly expressed by means of ^ as it is
by the Coptic ^COTU.
The Prisse Papyrus (5, 7) already speaks of " instructing the
ignorant to understand the harmony of beautiful language."
sba ^cmu er rex hetep hesb
viutet 7icfert
So at a later time we read of the god "who heareth all things, and
creates harmony in the entire world."
sotem xet neb ar hetep hesb cm fa f er - ef
* Dcmicrali, I, 53, 3. t DcudcraJi, III, 12, 5>.
574
June 5] PROCEEDINGS. [1888.
In the same sense Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, is said to
"keep the earth in perfect order," I ft ===== / ^ T smen ta em
hetep neferJ'' The two expressions ^ hetep hesb and ^ T hetcp
nefer are extremely common in the later texts. ^
metre is a third and perhaps not less frequent synonym.
The variants of this frequent expression are V fi 1 1
and
In the Tale of the Two Brothers, two tall persea trees grew up
I I I
I n V\ M ^ ua nebt din-sen hetep -ta, 'each
corresponding to the other. 'f
The kindred 9 f | kept has the same meaning.
Q ( } .vwvAA \ c^ ^ 'not a brick pitted its neighbour.'
The group ^^^ in the sense of 'book,' is to me evidently the
same word as ' ' //otep, which occurs in the title of one of the
sacred books, <=i^ V\ .^ a. ' Beginning of the
Book of the Praise of Ra.'
And if ^ signifies ' addition,' ' sum,' total,' is not this the case
also with . » ^? We read, for instance, in the Abbot Papyrus |
" Sum total (, 0 .) of the monuments of the ancient kings examined
this day by the experts : —
"Found intact, 9 monuments ; violated i ; total f, ft ,) 10 monu-
ments of the priestesses | ^^-^ (1(1 | of Anion Ra, king of the gods ;
" Found intact 2 ; found violated by the plunderers 2 ; total
(=^) 4."
A large number of instances occur in the great Harris Papyrus,
What difference is there between ^ ^ and ^^ ij "^ hetep
db, which have the same signification ?
■" Dendcrah, 66, K.
t D'Orbiny Pap., 17, I ; rightly, I think, translated " es war eine jcde von
ilinen sich ahnelnd," in Brugsch's Lexicon, IV, p. 1538.
+ Plate III, line 15.
575
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILEOLOGV. [1888.
And what better reading than hctep can be suggested for
CJ I \> 2il tJ I I
^ in the following ? /n
" Righteousness which is in thy heart, to make satisfaction to the
gods and goddesses." *
The sign ^, being essentially polyphonous, a diiificulty may occur
in reading a word when variants are either seemingly contradictory
or entirely wanting. It may not be easy to say whether a goddess
® P should be called Apit, Tepif, or Hetepit. There are very
good reasons for each of these names, for each of them was actually
in use, and indicated the same person. They were synonymous,
but not homophonous.
In the same way | and ^^j^?] may both stand for ^ in the
sense of ' first,' but the second sign is most probably to be read
tep, whilst the other is undoubtedly hetep.
I as a preposition has the value hetep, as we have seen, and
it is homophonous in this value with | and with '|'|'p in such
mstances as U ^MJn 1 = ^ v> _ — a *aL 1 and the compound
h D M \ D Jf M I
preposition J^ u = ^ = -^ ^^ tier /letep.-X 1 his i)reposition
^ ^ \ I I I I I 11;
is not either phonetically or grammatically to be confounded with
the words signifying 'on the head of.' In the latter expression
the preposition <^ governs the noun @, tep, which, when it is not
immediately followed by a suffix, is joined to another noun by
the preposition /w^AA/^, en. '^ ^, //er hetep, as a compound pre
position, means something quite different. Rameses II was not
standing on his head when he was ^ ^ h^=^ her-hetep-ef (by him-
self) in the midst of his enemies.
Importance is very naturally attached to the (Ireek transcriptions
of the names of the Decans, according to which ttt-*; would be the
equivalent of ® . But as I have long since pointed out, forms
like htep or the Coptic o^TOTI) ruina, necessarily lose their initial
letter in a Greek transcription. J
* Dendcrali, II, 41.
t These variants show that M. Maspero's hiza, hriza, is a wrong transcription.
Besides, <:z:r> often follows "^, and □ follows @ in this compound.
X As the Coptic pX^\K£, ' supra' has been cited in evidence, I will only say
lliat it corresponds in sense (as well as sound) to ^ , and not to '-| ^ •
576
June 5] TROCEEDINGS. [1S88.
And whatever Greek transcriptions may suggest, it is utterly inex-
cusable in Egyptologists to look upon ^ ^ as a single group
= tpd. The explanation which I gave of the expression in the
Transactions o{ i'&2>\ (p. 117) is the only true one. Since I wrote
the note in question there has been ample time to verify the fact
that, from the earliest times of the language known to us, the sign of
the plural has been written before as well as after a . The
Pyramid texts of Unas (line rgg) speak of "those who follow Ra, the
ancient ones," () -f" ^ ^ O ^ ^ ^ \ amii-xet Ra, htepn-du.
The Prisse Papyrus (19, 8) has f^ n ^ | -~~^ \ ^ | Later
examples exist in abundance. The sign ^ is only justifiable as a
determinative when the persons referred to are venerated ancestors,
kings or gods, but ® htep a in itself means nothing niore than
'prior,' 'before.' S '^ "^ P ^^^ \ '^^^ ^ " )^ h^l^^ ^^^^^
htep a st'er is " beer to drink before going to bed."
The etymological side of the question is not less important than
the phonetic.
None of the Indo-European names of the 'head' had originally
any direct reference to that part of the animal body or to concepts
of eminence or priority. The French tete comes from testa, which
meant a ' pot,' or ' pitcher,' and it is in the same range of ideas
that the use of the Sanskrit kapdlas and kindred words in other lan-
guages had their origin. We ourselves use the word ' chest ' in the
sense of the human thorax, the Egyptians applied it to the head.
The Egyptian nH e^ ken, ' head,' properly signified a vessel,
whether a pot rn ^ , or a box HD k^ .
Tep also signifies a box or chest, h — n
• ^ o ' □ ILJ\ □
The two words he/i and tep are used synonymously for ' head '
in the bilingual Rhind papyri, and Dr. Birch, for want of attention to
the Demotic version, translated PD 7p=rf 'chest,' in consequence
of its determinative. In the Boulaq papyrus No. Ill, 11, 20, the
word is written 1111 ^=H , with two determinatives, the box and the
symbol of limbs.
577
June 5] SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCILLOLOC.V] 1SS8.
Anoiher use of tcp, as <—" ^^ , the 'shell,' or 'hold' of a
ship, 'carina,' has the same fundamental meaning.
A variety of meanings may be found attached to the root hdep
(Jiepet), but the primitive one seems to be best expressed by the
determinative A , ' to take hold of something, seize, catch as it were
with both hands, on all sides ; embrace, comprehend, comprise ;
join, put, bind or fasten together ; fit, reconcile, rest upon, overlay,
cover,' with other derivative meanings^ well known both in ancient
Egyptian and in Coptic.
The derivatives of the Indo-European root kap^ like capio,
incipio, principium, caput, kiL'td]^ are admirable illustrations of the
various applications of the same primitive concept. The connection
of ideas is not accidental. The German fangen leads to An-fang
just as capio leads to in-cipio, and the Egyptian hetep in the sense of
fangen to hetep in the sense oi prin-ceps ox prin-cipium. Hetep in the
sense of 'sum,' 'total' is merely a 'putting together.' Hetep in
the sense of ' first ' is as nearly allied in thought to hetep, P TOFl
ruina, as prin-ceps to prae-ceps, prae-cipitinni, ' head ' to ' head-long.'
The prepositional sense of hetep, ' over,' ' upon,' is derived from
'overlaying,' 'covering.'
The ' dagger ' | hetep is connected with '=^ ^^>^ ^ | -g ^=5-^ ,
'stab,' 'cut,' and with ~^ hetepet a 'graving tool,' the deter-
minative of which sometimes closely resembles |.
How far these words are radically identical with the preceding, is
an interesting question, but one which need not occupy us at present.
If @ and I have the same phonetic value, this is quite a sufficient
reason why one may be substituted for the other. But they cannot
be proved to be homophonous in more than one value, and that is
hetep.
lliere is another group of words, connected with ^ [I r— 1 , which
I believe to be related to ' ^ ' but there is no need of discussing it
i^ u _ ...
or other interesting topics at present. My intention in this Note is
simply to call attention to very grave phonetic and other considera-
tions, which are generally neglected by Egyptologists.
HARRISON AND SONS, I'KINTliKS IN OKUINARY TO HER MAJESTY, ST. MARTIN S LANE, LONDON.
Proceedings Soc.Bibi.AiThi^ K-i" >^
m
JuxE 5] TROCEEDINGS.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE
LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY.
BOTTA, Monuments de Ninive. 5 vols., folio. 1847-1850.
Place, Ninive et I'Assyrie, 1866-1869. 3 vols., folio.
Brugsch-Bey, Geographische Inschriften Altaegyptische Denkmaeler. Vols.
I— III (Brugsch).
Recueil de Monuments lEgyptiens, copies sur lieux et publics par H.
Brugsch et J. Diimichen. (4 vols,, and the text by Diimichen
of vols. 3 and 4. )
DiJMlCHEN, Historische Inschriften, &c., 1st series, 1867.
2nd series, 1869.
Altaegyptische Kalender-Inschriften, 18S6.
Tempel-Inschriften, 1862. 2 vols., folio.
GOLENISCHEFF, Die Mettemichstele. Folio, 1877.
Lepsius, Nubian Grammar, «S:c., 1880.
De Roug6, Etudes Egyptologiques. 13 vols., complete to 1880.
Wright, Arabic Grammar and Chrestomathy.
ScHROEDER, Die Phonizische Sprache.
Haupt, Die Sumerischen Familiengesetze.
Rawlinson, Canon, 6th Ancient Monarchy.
BuRKHARDT, Eastern Travels.
Wilkinson, Materia Hieroglyphica. Malta, 1824-30. {.Text only.)
Chabas, Melanges Egyptologiques. Series I, III. 1862-1873.
Le Calendrierdes Jours Pastes et Nefastes de I'annee Egyptienne. 8vo. 1S77.
E. Gavet, Steles de la XII dynastie au Musee du Louvre.
Ledrain, Les Monuments Egyptiens de la Bibliotheque Nationale.
Nos. I, 2, 3, Memoires de la Mission Archeologique Fran5ais au Caire.
Sarzec, Decouvertes en Chaldee.
Lefebure, Les Hypogees Royaux de Thebes.
Sainte Marie, Mission a Carthage.
Guimet, Annales du Musee Gumiet. Memoires d'Egyptologie.
Lefebure, Le Mythe Osirien, 2nd partie. "Osiris."
Lepsius, Les Metaux dans les Inscriptions Egyptiennes, avec notes par W. Berend.
D. G. Lyon, An Assyrian Manual.
A. Amiaud and L. Mechineau, Tableau Compare des Ecritures Babyloniennes
et Assyriennes.
Erman, Aegypten u. Agyptisches Leben im Altertum.
2 parts, Mittheilungen aus der Sammlung der Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer.
RoBiou, Croyances de rEg}'pte a I'epoque des Pyramides.
Recherches sur le Calendrier en Egypte et sur le chronologic des Lagides.
POGNON, Les Inscriptions Babyloniennes du Wadi Brissa.
HARRISON AND SONS,
PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY,
ST. martin's lane.
I
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY PUBLICATIONS.
Zbc Br'onse ©rnaments of the
l^alace 6ates from Balawat.
[Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825.]
Parts I, 11, III, and IV have now been issued to Subscribers.
In accordanue with the terms of the original prospectus, the price for
•'each part is now raised to ^i los. ; to Members of the Society (the original
■price) ;^i i^.
%.
Society of Biblical Archa jlogy.
COUNCIL, 1888,
President : —
P. LE Page Renouf,
Vice-Presidents : —
Rev. F'rederick Charles Cook, M.A., Canon of 1 ter.
Lord Halsbuky, The Lord High Chancellor.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., D.C.L., *cc.
The Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., &c.[
The Right Rev. J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., &c., Bish^i^of Durham.
Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Charles T. Newton, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., &c.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart, D.C.L., M.D., &c., &c.
Rev. George Rawlinson, D.D., Canon of Canterbury.
Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., 6cc.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury.
W. A. Tvssen Amherst, M.P
Rev. Charles Jatmes Ball.
Rev. Canon Beechey, M.A.
E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A.
Arthur Gates.
Rev. Prof. T. K. Cheyne, D.D.
Thomas Christy, F.L.S.
Charles Harrison, E.S.A.
CoiairAl :
, &c.
Rev. Albert Lowy.
Rev, James Marshall.
F. D. Mocatta.
Alexander Peckover, F.S.A.
J. Pollard.
F. G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.
E. Towry Whyte, M.A.
Rev. W. Wright, D.D.
Honorary Treasurer — Bernard T. Bosanquet.
Secretary — W. Harry Rylands, F.S.A.
Honorary Secretary for Foreign Correspondence — Prof. A. IL Sayce, M.A.
I/onorary Librarian — WiLLiAM SiMi'SON, F.R.G.S.
HAKKISu.N A.ND iONS, FRINTEKS IN OKUINAKV 10 lUiK MAJES1V, ST. MARTINS I.ANt.
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11